San
A name with origins in Sanskrit, meaning "praise" or "worthy".
Name Census estimates that about 1,922 living Americans carry the first name San. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.1% of registrations being female. The average person named San today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of San births was 1950 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for San. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,332 Americans
Peak year
1950
74 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,059
Tracked since 1911
Gender
Gender distribution for San
San is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,489 total registrations, 621 (24.9%) were male and 1,868 (75.1%) were female.
San as a male name
- Ranked #12,059 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (23 births)
San as a female name
- Ranked #17,204 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1950 (66 births)
Popularity
San: popularity over time
The SSA tracks San from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 533 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
San 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 San during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sans live
Origin
Meaning and history of San
The name San has its origins in several ancient languages and cultures. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Shana', which means 'giving' or 'bestowing'. The name is also found in the ancient Hebrew language, where it is believed to be a variant of the name 'Shani', which translates to 'sun' or 'sun-god'.
In Hindu mythology, San is one of the names of the Sun God, Surya. The name is mentioned in several Sanskrit texts, including the Vedas and the Puranas. San is also a popular name in Buddhism, where it is often associated with the concept of 'peace' and 'tranquility'.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name San can be found in the ancient Chinese text, the Shiji, which dates back to the 2nd century BC. The text mentions a person named San Qing, who was a famous military strategist during the Warring States period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable people with the name San. One of the most famous was San Gaku, a Japanese mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 17th century. He is credited with introducing the concept of the 'Sangaku' or 'mathematical tablets' to Japan.
Another notable person with the name San was San Francisco de Asis, a Catholic friar and preacher who lived in Spain during the 16th century. He is remembered for his work in establishing monasteries and promoting the Franciscan order.
In the 20th century, San Dai, a Chinese writer and poet, gained recognition for his works that explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality. He was born in 1909 and passed away in 1988.
San Pablo, a Filipino revolutionary and general, played a significant role in the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule in the late 19th century. He was born in 1863 and died in 1903.
San Somhang, a Laotian politician and diplomat, served as the President of Laos from 1992 to 1998. He was born in 1924 and passed away in 2015.
People
San + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with San as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
San: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named San?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,922 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for San 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 178,332 US residents.
Is San a common name?
We classify San as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,489 babies have been registered with this name.
When was San most popular?
The single biggest year for San was 1950, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living San is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is San a female name?
Yes, 75.1% of people registered as San 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.
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.