Name Awesome

San

#11,751 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Moon

San has been given to 2,502 babies in the U.S. since 1911. In 2025 it ranked #11,751 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1950, with 66 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 75% girls, 25% boys all-time.

Babies named San, 2025

1 in 414,000

San over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — San over time

In 2025, San went to 62% girls and 38% boys.

19112025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

San: meaning, origin, and history

Moon

Chinese

What San means

San means “moon”.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

San is used in Burmese.

Another recorded pronunciation is /sáɴ/ for San.

Origin, language, and formation

San is used in Turkish and Vietnamese. Its origins include Chinese.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Vietnamese, San is pronounced [saːn˧˧].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,876 girls were recorded with the name San between 1911 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 66 in 1950; its best national rank was #1,141 in 1950.

Over 10 years its rank rose, from #18,654 in 2015 to #11,751 in 2025.

In the United States, 626 boys were recorded with the name San between 1917 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 23 in 1984; its best national rank was #2,121 in 1967.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #11,765 in 2020 to #13,548 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #9,414 in 2015 to #13,548 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is San?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 201,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#11,751
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where San sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another San. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Sans were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as San was born before 1963 — so the typical San is around 62 today.

Median birth year
1963
About 62 years old
Biggest decade
1960s
24.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
2.4%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
1,543
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1960s — 24.5% of all recorded uses (460).

Is San 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
+5,505
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
+6,903
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.60×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
12.1%
Peak was 1950 (66)
Years since peak
75
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,141
1950

Where San is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, San was most concentrated in Texas — about 1 in 9,091 girls, against 1 in 20,109 across all states with data. It was least common in California (1 in —).

011 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Texas1 in 9,091
  2. 2California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls 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. San has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where San is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, San was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 271,647 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Texas1 in —

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. San has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

San around the world

Where San 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.

  • France
    2024–2024
    #5,350
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1978–1995
    #712
    in 1995

Popularity data from Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

San by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,751
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#1,141
1950
Peak year
1950
66 that year
First recorded
1911
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,876
Count in 2025
8

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#13,548
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,783
Best rank ever
#2,121
1967
Peak year
1984
23 that year
First recorded
1917
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
626
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to San

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

SaniaSanyaSanaSanviSanayaSanaiSaniSantaSaniahSannaSanaaSanamSanjanaSandiSanaeSansaSantinaSaniyaSandeeSanikaSanaiiSanoraSandieSanda

Sibling names for San

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 San

Top names of 1950, San's peak yearThe 1950s in fullOther names that peaked in 1950Girls' names starting with SStudio Ghibli Names