How to say it
AL · an
/ˈæl.ən/
Masculine
Alan
Harmony, or 'little rock'
What it means
Celtic root with two competing readings: 'harmony' (from a Brittonic alyn) or 'little rock' (Irish ailín). Alan Turing the cryptographer + Alan Rickman the actor anchor different generations.
Alan comes from a Celtic root with disputed meaning — candidates include 'harmony,' 'little rock,' 'noble,' or 'precious child.' The name arrived in England with the Bretons after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Alan Turing (1912-1954), the British mathematician who broke Enigma at Bletchley Park and founded computer science, is the deepest 20th-century anchor. Alan Rickman (1946-2016), the English actor of Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, and Snape in Harry Potter, gives modern Hollywood weight. Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) covers the third generation. The English Alan peaked in the 1940s; it's been sliding since but is still in the US top 300. Common short: Al.
Popularity over time
peaked at #40 in 1951, currently #191 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Alan, Allan, and Allen are all the same name; Alan is the most common modern US spelling, Allan is Scottish, Allen tends toward the surname.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Alan Turing British mathematician, broke Enigma at Bletchley Park, founder of computer science
- Alan Rickman English actor, Severus Snape and Hans Gruber
Spelling variants
- Allan
- Allen
- Alain
Names with the same feeling
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