Lann
A diminutive of Bernard, derived from Germanic elements meaning "brave bear."
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Lann. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lann today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lann births was 1956 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lann. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lann. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1956
5 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,514
Tracked since 1956
Census
Lann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 157 people with the first name Lann, which placed it at #44,257 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#44,257
National first-name rank
People counted
157
157 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lann is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.2%) and Black (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lann described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.7% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.2% · 38
- Black or African American4.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.3% · 2
Popularity
Lann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lann from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Lann 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 Lann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lann
The name Lann is a relatively uncommon given name with origins in the Gaelic language of Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the Old Irish word "lann," which means "blade" or "sword." The name likely emerged during the early medieval period, when swords and blades held significant cultural and symbolic importance among Celtic warriors and nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lann can be found in the ancient Irish epic, the Táin Bó Cúailnge, which dates back to the 8th or 9th century AD. In this epic, Lann is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a warrior or soldier. This suggests that the name was in use as a personal name during the early medieval period in Ireland.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Lann remained relatively obscure but was occasionally used among Irish and Scottish families. One notable bearer of the name was Lann Éremón, an Irish prince and ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasty, who lived in the 5th century AD. Another historical figure with this name was Lann Ua Maíl Chonaire, an Irish scribe and monk who lived in the 12th century.
In more recent history, the name Lann has been relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals have borne it. Lann Hornscheidt, a German linguist and gender studies scholar, was born in 1976 and is known for their work on language and gender. Lann Tuan, a Vietnamese-American writer and activist, was born in 1965 and has published several books on Vietnamese history and culture.
Another individual with the name Lann was Lann Chittenden, an American businessman and inventor who lived from 1857 to 1929. He is credited with developing one of the earliest successful mechanical adding machines. In the world of sports, Lann Wilf was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League in the 1920s and 1930s.
Despite its relative rarity, the name Lann has a rich historical background rooted in Celtic and Irish culture, with connections to ancient epics, noble lineages, and even the symbolism of swords and blades. While it has remained an uncommon name throughout history, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, writers, inventors, and athletes.
People
Lann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lann as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lann 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Lann a common name?
We classify Lann as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lann most popular?
The single biggest year for Lann was 1956, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lann is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 157 people with the name Lann, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,257 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lann in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lann?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lann on both sides of the split. Of the 162 people counted with this name, 84 were male (51.9%) and 78 were female (48.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lann is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.2%) and Black (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (100 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Lann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lann a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lann 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 Lann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lann 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 Lann 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.
How many people are named Lann?
Find out how many people have the name Lann on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.