Khalan
Of Iranian origin, used for males and meaning "tent" or "dwelling".
Name Census estimates that about 191 living Americans carry the first name Khalan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Khalan today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khalan births was 2022 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khalan. 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 Khalan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
191
~ 1 in 1,794,525 Americans
Peak year
2022
43 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,021
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Khalan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khalan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 147 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Khalan 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 Khalan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Khalans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Khalan, while Texas, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Khalan
The name Khalan has its origins in the Persian language and culture. It is believed to have emerged during the ancient Persian empire, which spanned from the 6th century BCE to the 7th century CE. The name is derived from the Persian word "khāl," which means "mole" or "birthmark," suggesting that it may have been used to describe someone with a distinctive mole or birthmark.
In the ancient Persian tradition, names were often chosen based on physical characteristics, virtues, or aspirations for the child. The name Khalan may have been given to a child with a noticeable mole or birthmark, or it may have been chosen to symbolize beauty or uniqueness.
While there are no direct references to the name Khalan in ancient Persian texts or religious scriptures, it has been found in historical records and inscriptions from the Sassanid period (224-651 CE). One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Khalan, a Persian nobleman who served as a court official during the reign of Khosrau I (531-579 CE).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Khalan. One of the most famous was Khalan al-Mawsili, a renowned Arab musician and poet who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his mastery of the lute and his contributions to the development of Arabic music.
Another notable figure was Khalan ibn al-Faraj, a 10th-century Arab physician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of medicine and wrote several treatises on various medical topics.
In the 13th century, Khalan al-Dimashqi was a Syrian scholar and historian who authored a comprehensive geographical work titled "The Cosmography of Khalan al-Dimashqi."
During the Ottoman Empire, there was a Turkish military commander named Khalan Pasha who served in the 16th century and played a crucial role in the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus.
In more recent times, Khalan Bazarganan was an Iranian politician and academic who served as the first Prime Minister of Iran after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Khalan throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural and linguistic heritage.
People
Khalan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khalan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Khalan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khalan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khalan 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 1,794,525 US residents.
Is Khalan a common name?
We classify Khalan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khalan most popular?
The single biggest year for Khalan was 2022, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khalan is about 6 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 Khalan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khalan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Khalan 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 Khalan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khalan 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 Khalan 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 common is the name Khalan?
See how many Americans are named Khalan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.