Spellings
Alan or Allen?
In the US in 2025, 72% of babies in this name family were spelled Alan and 19% Allen. Same name, slightly different impression: here are the figures for each spelling.
Ten years ago
Alan already led in 2015, with 65% of the family's births; it has 72% in 2025. All spellings together, the family went from 3,855 to 2,645 births (−31%).
| Spelling | 2015 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan | 2,487 | 1,915 | −23% |
| Allen | 976 | 507 | −48% |
| Allan | 392 | 223 | −43% |
How they sound
All of these spellings are said the same way: /ˈælən/ (AL-un). So the choice is about how it looks: it is the spelling people will read on a birth card, a name tag or an email address, and the one your child will sometimes spell out.
In France
In France in 2025: Alan 105 births (#434 among boys), Allen 5 births and Allan 35 births (#998 among boys).
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA), Insee (France), 2025 data. How we calculate these figures.
Which spelling is yours?
The one-minute style quiz.