Loan
Of English origin, a name representing borrowed money or resources.
Name Census estimates that about 420 living Americans carry the first name Loan. It is a predominantly female name (95.9% of registrations). The average person named Loan today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Loan births was 1982 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Loan. 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
420
~ 1 in 816,082 Americans
Peak year
1982
41 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,664
Tracked since 1976
Census
Loan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,029 people with the first name Loan, which placed it at #2,867 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
#2,867
National first-name rank
People counted
8.0K
8,029 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Loan 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 Loan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 7,753
- White1.7% · 133
- Two or more races0.9% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 43
- Black or African American0.3% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Loan
Loan leans heavily female at 95.9% of total registrations, but 18 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Loan as a male name
- Ranked #6,664 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (13 births)
Loan as a female name
- Ranked #16,511 in 2000
- 5 female births in 2000
- Peak: 1982 (41 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Loan leans strongly female. 7,865 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 169 male bearers (2.1%).
Popularity
Loan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Loan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 268 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Loan 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 Loan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Loans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Loan, while Massachusetts, Louisiana, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Loan
The given name Loan has its origins in the Celtic languages of ancient Britain and Ireland. It likely stems from the Old Irish word "lon" or "luan," meaning "blackbird" or "warrior." In the early medieval period, the name may have initially referred to someone with dark hair or a fierce warrior spirit.
During the Middle Ages, Loan was used primarily in Wales and parts of western England. It appears in some early Welsh manuscripts and genealogical records from the 6th to 9th centuries AD. However, it was not a particularly common name at the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Loan can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, an Irish chronicle from the 11th century. It mentions a "Loan mac Cathail" who was a ruler in the region of Thomond (modern-day County Clare) around the year 1027 AD.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Loan (or Llywelyn in Welsh) was the Prince of Gwynedd in northern Wales. He ruled from 1195 to 1240 and was known for his efforts to resist the encroachment of English rule in Wales.
During the Renaissance period, a French scholar and humanist named Jean de Tillet (1542-1570) was also known by the Latinized name Joannes Tiliius Loanius. He wrote several influential works on French history and law.
In the 17th century, a Scottish poet and playwright named Loan Baillie (1598-1667) gained recognition for his satirical works and translations of Latin poetry. He was a member of the literary circle around King James VI and I.
Another historical figure with the name Loan was Loan Gunn (1724-1801), a Scottish merchant and landowner from the Highlands. He played a role in the clearances of tenant farmers from his estates during the late 18th century.
While not a widespread name, Loan has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in Celtic cultures and regions influenced by them. Its origins and use reflect a connection to ancient warrior traditions and literary pursuits.
People
Loan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Loan 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
Loan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Loan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 420 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Loan 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 816,082 US residents.
Is Loan a common name?
We classify Loan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 444 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Loan most popular?
The single biggest year for Loan was 1982, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Loan is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Loan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,029 people with the name Loan, or 2.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,867 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 Loan 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 Loan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Loan leans strongly female. 7,865 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 169 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Loan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Loan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Loan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (7,753 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 Loan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Loan a female name?
Yes, 95.9% of people registered as Loan 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 Loan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Loan 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 Loan 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 called Loan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.