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Hans

#1,325 in 2025Boys' name

A former Portuguese gold coin, through Johannes

Hans has been given to 15,682 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #1,325 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1970, with 271 recorded.

Babies named Hans, 2025

1 in 22,700

Hans over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Hans: meaning, origin, and history

A former Portuguese gold coin, through Johannes

German

What Hans means

Hans belongs to the name family reached through Hans → Johannes. Its meaning is “A former Portuguese gold coin”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from German Hans (occasionally used in English), a medieval short form of Johannes (“John”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Hans (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Hans is used in English, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, German and Hunsrik and additional language sections. Its origins include German.

Hans comes through German Hans.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Johannes, Jack, Iōannēs, Johan, Jan, Jens, Jo, John and Jon.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Hans is pronounced /ˈhæns/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 15,677 boys were recorded with the name Hans between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 271 in 1970; its best national rank was #291 in 1885.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,465 in 2020 to #1,325 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,421 in 2015 to #1,325 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Hans between 1969 and 1969. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1969; its best national rank was #7,870 in 1969.

How common is Hans?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 22,700
146 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 11,700
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,325
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
15,740 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Hans sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 15,740 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Hans. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Hanss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Hans was born before 1973 — so the typical Hans is around 52 today.

Median birth year
1973
About 52 years old
Biggest decade
1960s
14.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
19.0%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
12,316
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1960s — 14.9% of all recorded uses (2,333).

Is Hans rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
±0
No change
Rank vs 5 years ago
+140
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+96
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.21×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
53.9%
Peak was 1970 (271)
Years since peak
55
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.1% average annual change
Best rank ever
#291
1885

Spellings of Hans

Hans is not the most common spelling — Ian is, with 26.0% against Hans's 1.6%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Hans is used

Across 2016–2025, Hans was most concentrated in Minnesota — about 1 in 3,030 boys, against 1 in 15,011 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in 100,000).

133 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Minnesota1 in 3,030
  2. 2Wisconsin1 in 4,348
  3. 3Washington1 in 7,143
  4. 4Colorado1 in 7,692
  5. 5Utah1 in 9,091
  6. 6Pennsylvania1 in 10,000
  7. 7California1 in 14,286
  8. 8Florida1 in 14,286

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Hans around the world

Where Hans ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #3,684
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1986–1986
    #317
    in 1986
  • Ireland
    1965–1980
    #264
    in 1980
  • France
    1900–2025
    #5,343
    in 2025
  • Norway
    1880–2025
    #96
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,105
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1947–2012
    #771
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Hans

People whose public names include Hans, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Hans in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Hans. Linked forms have their own page here.

IanIonIvoJanJonEvanGianIoanIvanIwanJaanJackJeanJoanJoaoJohnJuanSeanYannYvanHannsIeuanIvanoJehan

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Hans by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,325
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 140
Best rank ever
#291
1885
Peak year
1970
271 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
15,677
Count in 2025
146

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#7,870
1969
Peak year
1969
5 that year
First recorded
1969
Last recorded
1969
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Hans

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HankHanselHaniEvansHansonHanifHanHanadHansenHanleyHanzHaneefHanielHanzelHandyHananHanzoHannahHannibalHannaHannielHanceHanyHanford

Names with a curve like Hans

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Hans, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

JacquesDonnellBlairReynaldoBenitoReggieSheltonEugenioEloyEdwardoCarloJoesph

Sibling names for Hans

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Hans

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