Meaning and background
The story behind Alan
Alan was established in Brittany before spreading into English usage after the Norman Conquest. Its deeper origin remains uncertain: researchers have suggested a Brythonic root and a connection with the ancient Alans. There is also a distinct Kurdish name spelled Alan. The neat English pronunciation is well established, but “handsome” should not be offered as a settled translation.
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About Alan
Recorded as a dog’s name
Alan appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ælən/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ælən/ · primary stress on syllable 1AE1 L AH0 N
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.