Calan
A masculine Welsh name derived from the Roman name "Calanus", meaning "peerless" or "unrivaled".
Name Census estimates that about 947 living Americans carry the first name Calan. It is a predominantly male name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Calan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calan births was 2018 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calan. 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.
People living today
947
~ 1 in 361,937 Americans
Peak year
2018
51 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,796
Tracked since 1984
Gender
Gender distribution for Calan
Calan leans heavily male at 97.9% of total registrations, but 20 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Calan as a male name
- Ranked #3,796 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (51 births)
Calan as a female name
- Ranked #9,604 in 1992
- 8 female births in 1992
- Peak: 1992 (8 births)
Popularity
Calan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 339 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Calan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calan 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 Calan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Indiana recorded the most babies named Calan, while Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Calan
The name Calan is of Welsh origin, derived from the Celtic word "calen" meaning "slender" or "slim." It is believed to have been in use as a personal name since the early medieval period in Wales and other Celtic regions of the British Isles.
One of the earliest known references to the name Calan can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional bardic writings from the 13th century. In these texts, Calan is mentioned as the name of a minor character, though the specific details of this reference are unclear.
During the Middle Ages, the name Calan was primarily used among the Welsh nobility and landowning families. It gained some popularity during this time, though it remained relatively uncommon compared to other Welsh names of the era.
The first recorded instance of the name Calan being used by a notable historical figure is from the 15th century. Calan ap Rhys was a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses on the Yorkist side. He was born around 1430 and died in battle in 1471.
Another notable bearer of the name was Calan Cwmpil, a 16th-century Welsh bard and poet. He was renowned for his intricate and beautiful verse, and his works were widely circulated and appreciated during his lifetime and for generations after.
In the 17th century, Calan Davies was a Welsh clergyman and author who wrote extensively on religious and theological subjects. He was born in 1617 and served as a minister in various parishes throughout Wales until his death in 1687.
Moving into the 18th century, Calan Jones was a Welsh explorer and navigator who participated in several voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. He was born in 1745 and served as a ship's captain for many years, making important contributions to the mapping and exploration of the region.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Calan Evans was a prominent Welsh painter and artist known for his stunning landscapes and portraits. He was born in 1821 and spent much of his life capturing the beauty of the Welsh countryside in his works, which are still highly regarded and exhibited in galleries today.
While the name Calan has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by notable individuals across various fields and continues to have a strong connection to its Welsh roots and cultural heritage.
People
Calan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Calan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 947 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calan 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 361,937 US residents.
Is Calan a common name?
We classify Calan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 960 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calan most popular?
The single biggest year for Calan was 2018, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Calan a male name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Calan 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.
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.