Alan, our cherrful Christmas gift

Our first new born boy came as a Christmas gift on December 19th, 2006. We named him Alan

Alan is of Irish and Scottish Gaelic origin and means Harmony, or the cheerful handsome one.

The boy’s name Alan is pronounced AL-an. It is of Old German origin, and its meaning is “precious”. From Adal. Also possibly derived from the Gaelic “ailin” meaning “little rock”. Introduced into England by Breton followers of William the Conqueror, such as Alan, Earl of Brittany, who was rewarded for his services with vast estates in the newly conquered kingdom. Popular in the Middle Ages, with a boom around the 1950s influenced by the popularity of actor Alan Ladd. Alun is a Welsh form. South African author Alan Paton; lyricist Alan Jay Lerner; playwright Alan Bennett; astronaut Alan Shepard; actors Alan Alda, Alan Cumming; poet Allen Ginsberg; basketball player Allen Iverson.

Alan has 24 variant forms: Ailean, Ailin, Al, Alain, Alair, Aland, Alann, Alano, Alanson, Alen, Alin, Allain, Allan, Allayne, Allen, Alley, Alleyn, Alleyne, Allie, Allin, Allon, Allyn, Alon and Alun.

Similar baby name suggestions for Alan are Alwyn, Alwin, Aluin, Aloin, Ilon, Ilan, Elon, Elan, Eilan, Elian, Jalan, Olin, Olyn, Olen and Wylan. Search for more names similar to Alan starting with Al-, Ala-, Alan- or ending with -an, -lan, -alan.

Alan is a very popular male first name and a popular surname, according to the 1990 U.S. Census.