Yan
Yan is a unisex given name: about 51% of people named Yan are men and 49% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
This name is used for both men and women without a strong lean either way.
- Verdict
- Unisex
- Male / female split
- 51% male / 49% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- China, United States, Azerbaijan
- US births since 1880
- 702 male / 99 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Yan
To address Yan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Yan," in English, "Guten Tag Yan," in German. About 51% of people named Yan are men and 49% 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 Yan,
German
Guten Tag Yan,
French
Bonjour Yan,
Spanish
Estimado/a Yan:
Chinese
Yan您好：
Japanese
Yan様
English
Hi Yan,
German
Hi Yan,
French
Salut Yan,
Spanish
Hola Yan,
Chinese
Yan你好：
Japanese
Yan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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | very common | unisex name | 50% |
| United States | uncommon | man's name | 88% |
| Azerbaijan | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Belarus | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Ukraine | rare | man's name | 98% |
United States birth data
702 male · 99 female · 801 births recorded
Since 1980: 87% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Yan a male or female name?
Yan is a unisex given name: about 51% of people named Yan are men and 49% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
How do I address Yan in an email?
To address Yan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Yan," in English, "Guten Tag Yan," in German. About 51% of people named Yan are men and 49% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Is Yan a unisex name?
Yan is a unisex name: 51% of people named Yan are men. The split stays close across most of the countries in the data.
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 Yan a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/yan (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_yan,
title = {Is Yan a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/yan},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}