Quan
An American name of Chinese origin meaning "bright" or "mighty".
Name Census estimates that about 1,405 living Americans carry the first name Quan. It is a predominantly male name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Quan today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quan births was 1985 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quan. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 243,953 Americans
Peak year
1985
43 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,706
Tracked since 1966
Gender
Gender distribution for Quan
Quan leans heavily male at 97.3% of total registrations, but 39 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Quan as a male name
- Ranked #6,706 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1995 (43 births)
Quan as a female name
- Ranked #15,147 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1981 (8 births)
Popularity
Quan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 355 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quan 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 Quan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Quans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Quan, while Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Quan
The name Quan has its origins in the Chinese language, where it is a common given name for both males and females. The name is derived from the Chinese character "全" which means "whole" or "complete". It is believed to have been in use as a given name for over a thousand years, with records of the name appearing in ancient Chinese texts and historical records.
One of the earliest known references to the name Quan can be found in the Analects of Confucius, a collection of sayings and teachings attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC). In this text, there is a mention of a person named Quan Zhong, who was a disciple of Confucius.
In Chinese history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Quan. One of the most famous was Quan Deyu (1759-1844), a Chinese scholar and philosopher who was known for his work on neo-Confucianism. Another notable figure was Quan Zuwang (1705-1755), a Chinese painter and calligrapher who was renowned for his landscape paintings and calligraphic works.
Outside of China, the name Quan has also been used in other cultures and regions. In Vietnam, for example, the name Quan is a variant of the more common name Quang, which also has its roots in Chinese. One notable Vietnamese figure who bore the name Quan was Quan Thuan (1948-2021), a Vietnamese-American writer and poet who was known for his works exploring themes of identity and exile.
In Japan, the name Quan is sometimes used as a variant of the Japanese name Kuan or Kan, which share similar meanings and origins with the Chinese name. One famous Japanese individual with the name Quan was Quan Zhi (1692-1758), a Confucian scholar and philosopher who was influential in the spread of neo-Confucianism in Japan.
Another notable bearer of the name Quan was Quan Fu (1837-1888), a Chinese diplomat and statesman who played a significant role in the late Qing dynasty. He served as the Qing Empire's ambassador to various countries, including Russia and the United States, and was known for his efforts to modernize China's diplomatic relations with foreign nations.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Quan. While the name has its origins in Chinese culture, its use has transcended borders and has been adopted by various other cultures and regions over the centuries.
People
Quan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,405 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quan 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 243,953 US residents.
Is Quan a common name?
We classify Quan as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,451 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quan most popular?
The single biggest year for Quan was 1985, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quan is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Quan a male name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Quan 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.
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.