The Yan surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,354 people carried this name — #3,182 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,000 people counted. That is up 42% from 8,016 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Yan surname
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 嚴 /严 (yán).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 3,082 people named Yan 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 Buenos Aires Province.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
190 people named Yan live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 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 166 people named Yan.
28 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 22 départements, most often Finistère.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 45 people named Yan 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 Flemish Brabant.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
278 people named Yan 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
Yan in American newspapers,
1873–1902.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 251,748 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Yan,
with a public archive behind them.
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Yan Xian d. 125 · politician
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Yan Yinshao d. 1642 · politician
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Yan Jizu d. 1639 · politician
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Yan Yiyu d. 1852 · politician
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Xi of Yan d. -221 · king
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Yan Wei d. 780 · writer
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Yan.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Yan 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.