Alan

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Alan

Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Alan is the name of a Germanic tribe. It may mean “Peace,” “Rock,” “Handsome,” or “Hound.”

History:
Alan was the name of an early Breton saint (the Bishop of Quimper). It did spread to England, however, until after 1066. Two of William the Conqueror’s most important supporters were Alain Fergéant, the Count of Brittany, and Alain le Roux, the Earl of Richmond. From the 14th to 16th centuries it was spelled Aleyn, or Aleyne.
Alan, Allen and Allan (alternate forms based on the surname) have remained in steady use.

Pronunciation: AL-ann.

Diminutives: All.

Alternates: Allan, Allen, Allyn, Aleyn, Aleyne.
French: Alain, Allain, Alein.
Hawaiian: Alena.
Irish: Ailin.
Scottish: Allan, Ailean.
Spanish: Alano.
Welsh: Alun.

Surnames: Hallison, FitzAlan, Allegyne, Alline, Allin, Allis.
English: Allender, Alanson, Allenson, Allinson, Allison.
Irish: McAllan, McAline, McEllen, McElane, McKellan, McKellen.
Scottish: Allender.

Feminine: Alana.

See also: Allan, Allen.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Alain Chartier (1385-1433)
French poet.
Alain-René Lesage (1668-1747)
French dramatist.
Alain-Fournier (Henri-Alban Fournier) (1886-1914)
French novelist.
Alain Grandbois (1900-1975)
French-Canadian poet.
Alan Paton (1903-1988)
South African writer.
Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971)
British composer.
Alan Hovhaness (1911-)
American composer.
Alun Lewis (1915-1944)
Welsh poet.
Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986)
American lyricist.
Alain Grillet-Robbe (1922-)
French writer.
Alan Dugan (1923-)
American poet.
Alun Owen (1925-1994)
Welsh dramatist.
Alan Sillitoe (1928-)
British writer.
Alan Garner (1934-)
British writer.
Alan Ayckbourn (1939-)
British playwright.
Alan Menken (1949-)
American composer.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Alain de Lille (Alan of Lille) (1128-1202)
French theologian.Called the Universal Doctor.
Alain (Émile-Auguste Chartier) (1868-1951)
French philosopher.
Alain Locke (1886-1954)
American educator.
Alan Lomax (1915-)
American music scholar.
Alan Kenneth McKenzie Clark (1928-1999)
British historian.

Miscellaneous:
Alan Francis Brook, Baron Alanbrook of Brookborough (1883-1963)
British military leader.
Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham (1887-1983)
British military leader.
Alan Garner (1894-1973)
British aviator.
Alan B. Shephard, Jr. (1923-1998)
American astronaut.
Alan L. Bean (1932-)
American astronaut.
Alan Page (1945-)
American football player.
Alan Kulwicki (1954-1993)
American race car driver.

Political Figures:
Alain-Émile-Louis-Marie Poher (1909-1996)
French politician.

Scientists:
Alan Hazeltine (1886-1964)
American electrical engineer.
Alan M. Turing (1912-1954)
British mathematician.
Sir Alan Hodgkin (1914-1998)
British biophysicist. Co-winner of the 1963 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Alan Garner (1939-)
British mathematician.
Alain Connes (1947-)
French mathematician.

Singers and Entertainers:
Alain Resnais (1922-)
French filmmaker.
Alan J. Pakula (1928-1998)
American filmmaker.
Alan Alda (1936-)
American actor.
Alan Rickman (1946-)
British actor.
Alan Thicke (1947-)
American actor.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.204 % named Alan
0.174 % named Allen
0.061 % named Allan

Popularity of Alan:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 408th most popular.
1910-1920: 366th most popular.
1920-1930: 213th most popular.
1930-1940: 120th most popular.
1940-1950: 56th most popular.
1950-1960: 45th most popular.
1960-1970: 59th most popular.
1970-1980: 112th most popular.
1980-1990: 109th most popular.
1990: 128th most popular.
1991: 132nd most popular.
1992: 130th most popular.
1993: 134th most popular.
1994: 147th most popular.
1995: 155th most popular.
1996: 145th most popular.
1997: 160th most popular.
1998: 166th most popular.
1999: 166th most popular.
2000: 162nd most popular.
2001: 152nd most popular.
2002: 148th most popular.
2003: 131st most popular.

In France...
1900-1970: N/A
1978: 193rd most popular.
1980: 169th most popular.
1990: 144th most popular.
2000: 77th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 46th most popular.
1999: 53rd most popular.
2000: 51st most popular.
2001: 59th most popular.
2002: 61st most popular.
2003: 71st most popular.

Popularity of Allyn:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1940: N/A
1940-1950: 868th most popular.
1950-2000: N/A

Popularity of Alain:
Popularity (for newborns):
In France...
1900: 135th most popular.
1910: 122nd most popular.
1920: 90th most popular.
1930: 52nd most popular.
1940: 16th most popular.
1950: 3rd most popular.
1960: 5th most popular.
1970: 22nd most popular.
1980: 90th most popular.
1990: 174th most popular.
1992: 194th most popular.
2000: N/A

Popularity of Allain:
Popularity (for newborns):
In France...
1900-1930: N/A
1936: 153rd most popular.
1940: 133rd most popular.
1950: 147th most popular.
1953: 171st most popular.
1960-2000: N/A