Mehan
An Indian feminine name of unknown meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Mehan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Mehan today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mehan births was 1986 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mehan. 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 Mehan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1986
6 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,737
Tracked since 1978
Gender
Gender distribution for Mehan
Mehan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 32 total registrations, 10 (31.3%) were male and 22 (68.8%) were female.
Mehan as a male name
- Ranked #13,479 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
Mehan as a female name
- Ranked #10,737 in 1987
- 6 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1986 (6 births)
Popularity
Mehan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mehan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 17 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
Mehan 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 Mehan 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 Mehan
The name Mehan is a variation of the Persian name Mehran, which originated in ancient Persia (present-day Iran) during the Sassanid Empire (224-651 AD). The name is derived from the Middle Persian words "mihr" meaning "sun" or "sun-god" and "an" meaning "of" or "belonging to", suggesting a connection to the sun and its divine qualities.
Historically, the name Mehan was associated with Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions, where Mithra (or Mihr) was the god of light, truth, and loyalty. The name appears in ancient Zoroastrian texts, such as the Avesta, as a reference to devotees or followers of the sun-god.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mehan dates back to the 6th century AD, when a Persian noble and military commander named Mehan-Farrukh served under the Sassanid king Khosrow I Anushiravan (531-579 AD). He is mentioned in the historical work Shahnameh by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi.
In the 10th century, Mehan al-Attar was a renowned Persian poet and philosopher from Nishapur, who wrote extensively on mystical and spiritual themes. His poetic works, such as the Maqamat, are considered important contributions to Persian literature.
During the Mughal Empire in India (1526-1857), Mehan Lal was a prominent Hindu courtesan and poet who lived in the 17th century. He was renowned for his skills in music, dance, and poetry, and was a favorite of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Another notable figure with the name Mehan was Mehan Singh (1670-1705), a Sikh warrior and military leader who fought against the Mughal Empire in the late 17th century. He played a significant role in the Battle of Anandpur Sahib and is revered in Sikh history for his bravery and dedication.
In the 19th century, Mehan Lal Kashmiri (1822-1887) was a prominent Kashmiri poet and scholar who wrote extensively in the Kashmiri language. His works, including the epic poem Shirin Khurshed, are considered masterpieces of Kashmiri literature and have contributed to the preservation of the region's cultural heritage.
People
Mehan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mehan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mehan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mehan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mehan 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Mehan a common name?
We classify Mehan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 32 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mehan most popular?
The single biggest year for Mehan was 1986, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mehan is about 30 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 Mehan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mehan a female name?
Yes, 68.8% of people registered as Mehan 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 Mehan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mehan 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 Mehan 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 Americans are named Mehan?
See how many people share the name Mehan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.