girl's name
Alanna
uh-LAN-uh
- Origin Breton
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 34,136
the United States
#280
2025 births
Alanna is a girl's name usually given as the feminine of Alan, a Breton name whose own meaning is not established. It is also linked to the Irish a leanbh, meaning O child, and reference sources genuinely disagree about which line the name follows.
- Alanna is a name of Breton origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,099 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,017 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1930.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Alanna over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 25 |
| 1940s | 175 |
| 1950s | 423 |
| 1960s | 499 |
| 1970s | 1,449 |
| 1980s | 2,924 |
| 1990s | 5,030 |
| 2000s | 6,175 |
| 2010s | 5,843 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,476 |
What Alanna means
Alanna is most often read as the feminine of Alan, which itself has no settled meaning — rock, handsome and harmony have all been proposed. The Irish reading takes it from a term of endearment for a child rather than from a name at all.
Where Alanna comes from
Alanna feminizes Alan, a Breton name brought to Britain at the Norman Conquest whose derivation is disputed: proposals include a Celtic word for rock, one for handsome, and a connection to the Alans, a nomadic people. None is established. Separately, Irish speakers hear the name in a leanbh, O child, a common term of affection spelled alanna in nineteenth-century Irish-English writing, and many families choose it for that reason rather than for Alan. Both explanations are current, and the name's Irish feel owes more to the second than the first.
Alanna in use
Alanna charts in all seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Alanna?
In 2025, Alanna was given to 1,099 babies in the United States, ranking #280 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Alanna is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Alanna
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alanna also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alanna over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Alanna
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Alanna in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Polish
- Alana
Sibling names for Alanna
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alanna — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alanna
What does the name Alanna mean?
It is disputed. As the feminine of Alan its meaning is unsettled, and it is separately linked to the Irish a leanbh, O child.
Is Alanna an Irish name?
Partly. Alan is Breton, but the Irish endearment a leanbh is spelled alanna in older Irish-English writing and many families choose it for that.
How do you pronounce Alanna?
uh-LAN-uh, with the stress on the middle syllable.
How popular is the name Alanna?
In 2025, Alanna was given to 1,099 babies in the United States, ranking #280 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Alanna a girl's or a boy's name?
Alanna is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alanna?
Alanna has 3 syllables.
When was Alanna most popular?
Alanna peaked in 2025, when 1,099 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Alanna?
Alanna is usually shortened to Lana and Ally.
Is Alanna a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alanna currently ranks #268 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.