Alan

Alan is an old name with Breton and Celtic roots, most often traced to a word meaning "rock" or, more poetically, "little harmony." It arrived in England with the Normans in 1066, settled in as a reliable medieval standby, and reached its American peak in the mid-twentieth century, when Alan Ladd, Alan Shepard, and Alan Alda gave it a steady, likable face. It has since cooled into a comfortable spot in the U.S. top 170s. Two tidy syllables, no ornament, no edges. Alan feels dependable, kind, a name that never overplays its hand. Familiar without being faded.