Akan
An African name meaning "born on Monday" or "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Akan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Akan today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akan births was 2022 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Akan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Akan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2022
5 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,418
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Akan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Akan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Akan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Akan
The name Akan traces its roots back to the Akan people, an ethnic group native to present-day Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa. The name is believed to have originated from the Akan language, which is part of the Niger-Congo family of languages.
In the Akan language, the word "Akan" is derived from the root word "Nkran," which means "born on Saturday." This suggests that the name Akan was likely given to children born on that particular day. The Akan people have a rich cultural heritage and a strong connection to their naming traditions.
Historically, the name Akan has been associated with several prominent figures from the region. One of the earliest recorded examples is Akan Yamoah, a notable chief and warrior who lived in the 17th century and played a significant role in the resistance against European colonization.
Another notable figure bearing the name Akan was Akan Nwadigo, a renowned Igbo trader and diplomat from present-day Nigeria in the 18th century. He was instrumental in facilitating trade relations between the Igbo and European merchants.
In the 19th century, Akan Mensah was a prominent Ghanaian chief and leader who fought against British colonial rule. His resistance efforts helped shape the course of Ghana's struggle for independence.
Moving into the 20th century, Akan Datey was a renowned Ghanaian lawyer and politician who played a pivotal role in Ghana's transition to self-governance and independence from British colonial rule. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
More recently, Akan Udofia was a Nigerian-born writer and playwright who gained recognition for his works exploring the cultural dynamics of West Africa. His play "The Weavers" was widely acclaimed and performed both in Nigeria and internationally.
While these are just a few examples, the name Akan has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, each contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural, political, and intellectual life in West Africa and beyond.
People
Akan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Akan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Akan a common name?
We classify Akan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akan most popular?
The single biggest year for Akan was 2022, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akan is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Akan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Akan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Akan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Akan?
Find out how many people have the name Akan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.