Lan
Lan is a unisex given name: about 13% of people named Lan are men and 87% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
- Verdict
- Mostly female
- Male / female split
- 13% male / 87% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- Vietnam, China, Korea
- US births since 1880
- 271 male / 759 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Lan
To address Lan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Lan," in English, "Guten Tag Lan," in German. About 13% of people named Lan are men and 87% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Lan,
German
Guten Tag Lan,
French
Bonjour Lan,
Spanish
Estimado/a Lan:
Chinese
Lan您好：
Japanese
Lan様
English
Hi Lan,
German
Hi Lan,
French
Salut Lan,
Spanish
Hola Lan,
Chinese
Lan你好：
Japanese
Lanさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | common | woman's name | 2% |
| China | common | unisex name | 50% |
| Korea | uncommon | unisex name | 50% |
| United States | uncommon | woman's name | 26% |
United States birth data
271 male · 759 female · 1,030 births recorded
Since 1980: 22% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lan a male or female name?
Lan is a unisex given name: about 13% of people named Lan are men and 87% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
How do I address Lan in an email?
To address Lan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Lan," in English, "Guten Tag Lan," in German. About 13% of people named Lan are men and 87% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Is Lan a unisex name?
Lan is not a unisex name: 13% of people named Lan are men. Lan leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Lan a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/lan (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_lan,
title = {Is Lan a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/lan},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}