Names / Yan
Is Yan a first name or a last name?
Yan is both: a family name in some places and a given name in others. It is mostly a family name in China and Taiwan; mostly a given name in France.
How to address someone called Yan
- China. Yan is a family name and is usually written first. Write Dear Mr. Yan or Dear Ms. Yan, or use the full name if you cannot tell which title fits.
- Taiwan. Yan is a family name and is usually written first. Write Dear Mr. Yan or Dear Ms. Yan, or use the full name if you cannot tell which title fits.
- France. Yan is a given name. Hi Yan on first-name terms; formally, Mr. or Ms. goes with the family name, not with Yan.
- Canada. Yan is used both ways: 26% of people from Canada with this name in our data carry it as a family name. Look at where it sits in the name and how the person signs.
Not sure which part of a full name is which? Check the full name with the country where the person is based.
Yan by country
People recorded in Wikidata who carry Yan as a family name or as a given name, by country of citizenship (606 in total).
| Country | As family name | As given name | Family name share |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 251 | 60 | 81% |
| Taiwan | 99 | 4 | 96% |
| France | 1 | 38 | 3% |
| Canada | 7 | 20 | 26% |
| United States | 8 | 2 | 80% |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 4 | 43% |
| Brazil | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| Singapore | 5 | 2 | 71% |
| Russia | 1 | 5 | 17% |
| Malaysia | 5 | 1 | 83% |
Wikidata covers notable people, so counts show how the name is used, not how many people carry it.
Yan in the United States
- As a surname: about 11,354 people in the 2010 census, rank 3,182 among US surnames.
- As a first name: 801 babies born between 1950 and 2017.
Yan as a given name: men or women?
About 9% of people with Yan as a given name in Wikidata are women. This describes the name, not any one person: it is not a safe basis for Mr. or Ms., and the full name without a title is always polite.
More on this naming tradition: How Chinese names work.
Related names
Li · Chen · Wang · Zhang · Yang · Liu · Huang · Wu · Xu · Zhou