boy's name
Conan
KOH-nan
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 4,948
Northern Ireland
#24
2024 births
Conan is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little hound" or "little wolf," from the Irish cú with a diminutive ending. It ranks 24th in Northern Ireland and is at its peak in our records right now.
- Conan is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 98 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 33,831 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1923.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Conan over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 7 |
| 1930s | 11 |
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1950s | 66 |
| 1960s | 131 |
| 1970s | 470 |
| 1980s | 315 |
| 1990s | 230 |
| 2000s | 263 |
| 2010s | 488 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 452 |
What Conan means
Conan means little hound, or little wolf. The Irish cú covered both animals, and the diminutive ending softens it, so the sense is closer to young wolf or wolf-cub than to anything small.
Where Conan comes from
Conan comes from the Irish Conán, built on cú, genitive con, a hound or wolf, with the diminutive -án — the same construction that gives Ronán from rón, a seal. It appears in the Fenian Cycle as Conán mac Morna, a bald, quarrelsome member of the Fianna who functions as the cycle's comic irritant. A Breton line exists in parallel: several early dukes and a saint of Brittany bore Conan, from a Brittonic cognate of the same root, and the two traditions have been feeding each other for centuries. Modern recognition runs through Arthur Conan Doyle, whose middle name came from a godfather, and through Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, invented in 1932, which fixed the name in popular culture as something Cimmerian rather than Irish. Conan O'Brien has since pulled it partway back.
Conan in use
Conan ranks 24th in Northern Ireland with 62 births in 2024, and its peak in our records is 2025 — this is a name currently at its high point rather than one being revived. Elsewhere it stays modest: 238th in Ireland, 1,242nd in England and Wales, 1,681st in the United States. Our records carry it from 1923.
How popular is Conan?
In 2025, Conan was given to 98 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Conan 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.
How Conan is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Conán | Conán is a rare spelling of Conan, written with a fada and recorded 66 times, mostly in Ireland. | 66 |
| Cónan | Cónan is a rare spelling of Conan, written with a fada and recorded 12 times, mostly in Ireland. | 12 |
| Cónán | Cónán is a rare spelling of Conan, written with a fada and recorded 3 times, mostly in Ireland. | 3 |
Names that peaked alongside Conan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Conan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Conan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Conan 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.
Sibling names for Conan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Conan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Conan
What does the name Conan mean?
Conan means "little hound" or "little wolf," from the Irish cú with a diminutive ending.
Is Conan an Irish name?
Yes, though there is a parallel Breton line from the same root, borne by several dukes of Brittany.
Is the name from Conan the Barbarian?
No. Robert E. Howard borrowed an existing Irish name in 1932; the character is not its source.
How popular is Conan?
Twenty-fourth in Northern Ireland, and much lower elsewhere.
Is Conan a girl's or a boy's name?
Conan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Conan?
Conan has 2 syllables.
Is Conan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Conan currently ranks #24 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.