The Tan surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,120 people carried this name — #1,090 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,180 people counted. That is up 49% from 21,567 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Tan surname
A Chinese surname from Mandarin.
From Mandarin 譚／谭 (Tán).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
655 people named Tan live in Switzerland.
They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 491 people named Tan.
Most of them — 391 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 30 départements, most often Ille-et-Vilaine.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 233 people named Tan live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 214 people named Tan live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
38 people named Tan have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 279 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
489 people named Tan are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Tan in American newspapers,
1892–1910.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,804,454 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Tan,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Tâm Sūi-cheng d. 1958 -
Tan Yuan d. 1401 · military personnel
-
Tan Tingxiang d. 1870 · politician
-
Tan Zhenliang d. 1708 · gentry
-
Tan Shukui d. 1944 · politician
-
Tan Xuekui d. 1916
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Tan.
- Tamayo 16,474 · U.S. census
- Tamba 382 · U.S. census
- Tamborini 137 · U.S. census
- Tamburini 130 · U.S. census
- Tami 186 · U.S. census
- Tampon 102 · U.S. census
- Tancredi 1,148 · U.S. census
- Tanda 112 · U.S. census
- Tande 308 · U.S. census
- Tandy 2,208 · U.S. census
- Tane 115 · U.S. census
- Tang 34,961 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Tan is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.