How Many People Are Named Nan?
An estimated 3,890 people in the United States have the first name Nan. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 71 years old, and Nan peaked in popularity in 1947 with 255 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Nan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 71, Nan is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1965.
Estimated Living Americans
3,890
About 1 in 88,112 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
71
years old
Peak Year
1947
255 births
Total Registered
10,274
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nan
Nan is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 10,274 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Nan as a female name
Ranked #14,785 in 2022
6 female births in 2022
Peak: 1947 (255 births)
Nan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 2,181 babies were registered. Nan has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nan by Decade
How has Nan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Nan by State
Birth registrations for Nan span all 35 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in West Virginia, Maine, Hawaii. On average, about 163 Nans were registered per state.
Nan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nan
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nan?
We estimate approximately 3,890 people named Nan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 88,112 Americans share this first name.
Is Nan a common name?
Nan is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 95.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,274 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nan most popular?
Nan reached peak popularity in 1947, when 255 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nan is approximately 71 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nan a female name?
Nan is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nan Smith, Nan Johnson, Nan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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