Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Nan?
Births per year, rank history and how many Nans are alive today.
Nan (female) is a shortened form of the name Nancy. Nan itself was last registered for 3 babies in 2023; most Nans are registered as Nancy, which ranked 78th in 2025 with 604 babies.
Most people called Nan are registered as Nancy, and share that name's profile: the Nancy you are most likely to meet is around 9 years old. Half of all Nancies born in England and Wales are between 10 and 67, and there are at least 29,000 of them alive today. Only some Nancys go by Nan.
How many babies are named Nan or Nancy each year?
Combined registrations of Nancy, Nancie, Nan. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Nancy rank as a registered name?
Where does Nan rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Nan short for Nancy?
Yes - Nan is a shortened form of Nancy. Nans are usually registered as Nancy at birth.
When was the name Nan most popular?
The full name Nancy peaked in 1914, when around 1,300 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Nan itself peaked as a registered name in 1996, with 3 babies.
How many people are called Nan?
There's no official count of people who go by Nan, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 29,000 people registered as Nancy born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Nan.
How old is the typical Nan?
Most people called Nan are registered as Nancy. Most living Nancies are between 10 and 67; the most common age is about 9.
Is Nan becoming more or less popular?
Declining: numbers have been falling in recent years.