Lennan
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "land, territory" or "valley".
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Lennan. It is a predominantly female name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Lennan today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lennan births was 2016 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lennan. 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 Lennan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
2016
25 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,265
Tracked since 2013
Gender
Gender distribution for Lennan
Lennan leans heavily female at 96.6% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lennan as a male name
- Ranked #13,368 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (5 births)
Lennan as a female name
- Ranked #9,265 in 2024
- 11 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (25 births)
Popularity
Lennan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lennan from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 93 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lennan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lennan 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 Lennan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lennans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lennan
The name Lennan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic language of Brittonic, which was spoken in parts of what is now Great Britain and France during the Iron Age and Roman era. The name is thought to be derived from the Brittonic root "len," meaning "path" or "track," suggesting a possible connection to travel or journeys.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lennan can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional Welsh folklore and literature dating back to the 13th century. In these texts, Lennan is mentioned as the name of a legendary Welsh prince and warrior who fought against Saxon invaders.
During the Middle Ages, the name Lennan appears to have been more prevalent in regions of Wales and Cornwall, where ancient Celtic traditions and languages had a stronger foothold. Several notable historical figures bore the name during this period, including Lennan ap Gwilym (born c. 1340), a Welsh bard and poet renowned for his lyrical works celebrating nature and love.
In the 16th century, a Cornish explorer and navigator named Lennan Trelawny (1535-1604) gained fame for his daring voyages to the Americas and his role in establishing early English settlements in Virginia. His exploits were recorded in various accounts of the time, cementing his place in the annals of British maritime history.
Another noteworthy figure with the name Lennan was Lennan ap Rhys (1650-1718), a Welsh clergyman and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Welsh language and literature. His works, including translations of ancient Welsh texts and grammars, helped preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Wales.
In more recent times, the name Lennan has been less common, though it has been carried on by a few individuals of note. One such person was Lennan Satterthwaite (1885-1971), a British archaeologist and historian who conducted extensive research on ancient Celtic settlements and burial sites in the British Isles.
While the name Lennan may not be as widely used today as it once was, its rich history and Celtic roots make it a unique and intriguing moniker that harkens back to the legends and traditions of ancient Britain and Wales.
People
Lennan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lennan 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
Lennan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lennan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lennan 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Lennan a common name?
We classify Lennan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lennan most popular?
The single biggest year for Lennan was 2016, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lennan is about 8 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 Lennan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lennan a female name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Lennan in the SSA data are female. 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 Lennan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lennan 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 Lennan 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 share the name Lennan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.