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Chan as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Chan

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The baby name Chan is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced English/Cantonese: 'Chan' (rhymes with 'man' — chæn / chahn),Korean: 'Chan' (찬 — chahn),Khmer/Thai/Vietnamese: 'Chan' (often pronounced chahn with a slightly longer a).

Chan is Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese in Origin.

Gender: Unisex
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese
Pronunciation: English/Cantonese: 'Chan' (rhymes with 'man' — chæn / chahn),Korean: 'Chan' (찬 — chahn),Khmer/Thai/Vietnamese: 'Chan' (often pronounced chahn with a slightly longer a)

What is the meaning of the name Chan ?

The baby name Chan is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced English/Cantonese: 'Chan' (rhymes with 'man' — chæn / chahn),Korean: 'Chan' (찬 — chahn),Khmer/Thai/Vietnamese: 'Chan' (often pronounced chahn with a slightly longer a).

Chan is Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese in Origin.

Chan is a multicultural given name and surname with several independent roots. In Khmer and Thai, it derives from Sanskrit/Pali Chandra, “moon,” yielding Khmer Chann (ចាន់) and Thai Chan/Jan (จันทร์); it has been used for centuries in Buddhist Southeast Asia and remains a unisex choice. In Korean, Chan (찬) is a given name element written with hanja such as 燦 “brilliant” or 讚 “praise,” and appears alone or in compounds (e.g., Chan-woo). As a Chinese surname, Chan is the Cantonese romanization of 陳 (Mandarin Chen), a toponymic clan from the ancient state of Chen.

Variants and related forms include Chann, Chantha/Channy (Khmer diminutives), Chandra/Chanda/Chand, and Thai Jan. Surname equivalents include Chen (Mandarin), Tan (Hokkien/Teochew), and Chin (some Hakka/overseas romanizations). The name is broadly unisex; meanings vary by origin - “moon,” “brilliant,” or “to praise” - and should not be confused with Japanese honorific -chan.

Chan has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Chan

Park Chan-yeol Actor · Born 1992 · South Korea Park Chan-yeol, known as Chanyeol, is a South Korean actor and musician, best known as a member of the popular boy group EXO. He has also appeared in films like 'Secret Queen Makers' and 'The Box'. His musical talents extend to songwriting and producing, showcasing his versatility in the entertainment industry. Chan Santokhi Politician · Born 1959 · Suriname Chan Santokhi was best known as the ninth president of Suriname, serving from 2020 to 2025. He was a Surinamese politician and former police officer who became president after winning the 2020 elections and being the sole nominee for the office. Cat Power Actor|musician · Born 1972 · United States Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, is most famous as an American singer-songwriter. She first used Cat Power as the name of her band, then adopted it as her solo stage name, and is known for songs and albums like "The Greatest," "Metal Heart," and Moon Pix.

Chan – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
HK Boys 0 #1 8,982 12,905
HK 0 #1 1,613 8,483
KH 0 #1 3 102
KH Girls 0 #1 8 148
MO 0 #1 62 2,706
KH Boys 0 #2 10 270
HK Girls 0 #3 6,986 16,104
MO Boys 0 #3 696 5,842
MO Girls 0 #4 640 7,056
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
ET Girls 0 #16 1 372
MY 0 #17 660 12,352
SG 0 #20 425 11,010
KR Boys 0 #25 3 897
BN 0 #27 6 2,297
MV Girls 0 #35 1 2,021
MY Boys 0 #37 7,139 25,439
SG Boys 0 #38 2,718 17,960
ID 0 #39 1 2,238
MY Girls 0 #44 4,807 24,821
SG Girls 0 #63 1,511 18,916
CN 0 #66 20 3,857
LU 0 #66 1 2,830
IN 0 #70 2 2,963
JP 0 #73 5 4,057
MV Boys 0 #73 7 3,375
BN Boys 0 #79 55 6,332
BN Girls 0 #86 21 5,459
TW 0 #89 12 4,523
JM 0 #92 2 3,714
ID Girls 0 #102 1 3,319
QA 0 #104 3 7,011
PH 0 #107 4 5,607
KW 0 #117 5 5,216
OM 0 #117 5 6,215
CN Boys 0 #127 259 9,639
ID Boys 0 #129 7 4,130
MU 0 #135 3 3,613
PA 0 #138 1 3,797
CN Girls 0 #140 298 8,829
MT Girls 0 #150 4 3,773
BW Boys 0 #154 1 4,685
HU Boys 0 #174 1 3,954
TW Boys 0 #176 67 7,111
PR Boys 0 #178 1 2,508
AE 0 #184 4 10,220
LU Girls 0 #188 3 4,850
TW Girls 0 #207 70 8,139
BD 0 #214 14 5,992
JP Girls 0 #216 30 6,592
LU Boys 0 #218 3 4,970
HU Girls 0 #225 1 3,308
PS 0 #226 1 5,692
IR 0 #231 1 4,221
NA Girls 0 #236 2 7,146
JM Girls 0 #238 22 7,507
GH 0 #246 3 5,396
AO Boys 0 #248 2 5,568
NA Boys 0 #253 1 6,830
HR Boys 0 #259 1 3,997
GR Boys 0 #268 6 6,912
JP Boys 0 #270 28 7,909
NG 0 #271 2 5,926
AF Boys 0 #274 1 3,535
IL 0 #282 1 6,291
PH Boys 0 #283 101 11,440
JM Boys 0 #291 3 6,876
KZ Boys 0 #292 5 6,578
QA Girls 0 #296 21 15,378
AL Boys 0 #303 1 5,122
CZ Boys 0 #304 2 6,530
SA 0 #308 5 10,560
SD Boys 0 #316 131 10,523
Canada Boys 2014 #327 5 2,348
PE 0 #327 3 6,350
DK Girls 0 #329 1 7,429
DK Boys 0 #330 3 7,401
KZ Girls 0 #330 3 5,862
GT 0 #332 7 5,948
JO Girls 0 #337 3 7,570
MU Girls 0 #338 14 8,539
PL Boys 0 #340 1 6,459
MU Boys 0 #343 15 8,477
CZ Girls 0 #351 1 5,378
SD Girls 0 #352 7 7,678
BR 0 #359 2 5,969
GH Boys 0 #359 3 8,138
OM Girls 0 #362 35 15,987
PH Girls 0 #362 29 13,098
PL Girls 0 #363 2 5,096
PT Boys 0 #381 1 7,951
JO Boys 0 #386 4 7,057
YE 0 #395 4 8,639
BD Girls 0 #398 9 8,413
France Boys 2016 #404 5 2,872
BO 0 #407 2 6,868
KW Boys 0 #411 391 18,755
UY Boys 0 #411 3 5,922
France Girls 2011 #416 3 3,153
CL 0 #434 1 6,867
BH 0 #439 115 17,937
MX 0 #443 3 8,339
KW Girls 0 #453 63 19,177
PA Boys 0 #454 28 9,305
BD Boys 0 #455 125 10,045
GT Boys 0 #459 16 7,625
PT Girls 0 #467 5 7,952
ZA 0 #469 6 14,421
CR Boys 0 #473 15 10,188
AR Boys 0 #476 8 7,628
IQ Girls 0 #488 17 11,303
RU Boys 0 #493 13 12,621
AE Girls 0 #509 45 20,968
CO 0 #510 1 7,768
PS Girls 0 #514 10 10,981
PA Girls 0 #516 3 9,861
RU Girls 0 #519 5 11,913
LY 0 #524 12 12,703
CM Girls 0 #527 14 11,671
UY Girls 0 #536 1 6,731
GT Girls 0 #539 3 7,500
PS Boys 0 #539 10 10,655
IR Girls 0 #545 1 8,334
IR Boys 0 #560 6 10,162
QA Boys 0 #564 144 18,093
CR Girls 0 #568 6 11,342
CM Boys 0 #571 5 12,054
IN Girls 0 #576 56 13,121
BO Boys 0 #618 5 9,244
IL Boys 0 #618 8 10,983
AR Girls 0 #627 4 8,289
IL Girls 0 #637 9 11,648
IQ Boys 0 #646 22 13,071
LB 0 #649 10 13,263
OM Boys 0 #672 210 17,948
Finland Boys 2026 #674 9 3,552
CL Boys 0 #692 9 13,390
SA Boys 0 #753 1,223 28,008
AE Boys 0 #757 348 22,615
BR Boys 0 #778 8 12,213
Germany Girls 0 #778 61 4,949
SA Girls 0 #791 145 25,931
TN 0 #811 19 13,765
NG Girls 0 #820 7 15,093
CL Girls 0 #842 10 14,098
NL Girls 0 #844 112 5,933
PE Boys 0 #850 29 14,506
EG Boys 0 #857 30 15,035
CO Boys 0 #870 51 15,656
IN Boys 0 #876 126 16,750
Spain Boys 0 #880 51 5,610
United States Girls 2003 #884 5 9,630
MX Boys 0 #886 97 16,355
United States Boys 2024 #887 6 7,044
NL Boys 0 #890 62 5,873
Germany Boys 0 #929 24 5,697
NG Boys 0 #937 15 16,906
EG Girls 0 #949 11 14,742
Spain Girls 0 #966 18 5,561
PE Girls 0 #1,006 5 14,861
DZ 0 #1,050 127 20,130
MA 0 #1,050 79 20,986
CO Girls 0 #1,066 13 16,140
ZA Girls 0 #1,101 41 25,928
ZA Boys 0 #1,126 53 25,619
MX Girls 0 #1,169 15 17,781
TR 0 #1,169 43 19,440
IT Boys 0 #1,383 89 10,046
IT Girls 0 #1,411 36 9,415

Chan is popular in 78 countries — most recent births per country:

France
United States
Canada
AE
AF

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Chan

Chan is a unisex name, given to both boys and girls.
Chan is a one syllable name, pronounced English/Cantonese: 'Chan' (rhymes with 'man' — chæn / chahn),Korean: 'Chan' (찬 — chahn),Khmer/Thai/Vietnamese: 'Chan' (often pronounced chahn with a slightly longer a).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Chen (Mandarin pinyin, 陳/陈), Chân (Vietnamese, with diacritic), Chahn (alternate spelling) and Chan- (as a name element in Korean compounds.
Across languages, Chan has these equivalents: Chen (same Chinese surname), Chandra / Chand (Sanskrit root meaning 'moon'), Luna (Latin/English equivalent meaning 'moon'), True / Chân (Vietnamese equivalent meaning 'true'), Korean hanja equivalents such as 燦 (bright), and 1 more.
Yes — Chan ranked #327 in Canada in 2014, and appears in official birth registries across 4 countries.
Chan ranks highest in Canada (#327 in 2014).
Yes — 3 notable people named Chan are in our database, including Park Chan-yeol (Actor), Chan Santokhi (Politician), Cat Power (Actor|musician).