Kan is a surname of multiple origins.
Contents
Origins
As a Chinese surname, Kan may be a spelling of the pronunciation in different varieties of Chinese of the following surnames, listed based on their Pinyin spelling (which reflects the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation):
Kàn (traditional Chinese: 闞; simplified Chinese: 阚)
Gān (Chinese: 甘 or 干), spelled Kan in the older Wade–Giles romanisation
Jiǎn (traditional Chinese: 簡; simplified Chinese: 简), spelled Kan based on its Cantonese (Jyutping: Gaan2; Cantonese Yale: Gaán; IPA: /kɑːn³⁵/) or Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kán) pronunciation
Jìn (Chinese: 靳), spelled Kan based on its Cantonese pronunciation (Jyutping: Gan3; Cantonese Yale: Gan; IPA: /kɐn³³)
The Dutch surname Kan originated both as an occupational surname for a potter or pewterer (from Middle Dutch kan, 'tankard', 'flagon', 'pitcher'), and as a reduced form of van de Kan, possibly a toponymic surname referring to De Kan in Veurne.
As a Japanese surname, Kan may be written using multiple kanji (e.g. 菅, 簡, 韓, 寛).
As a Jewish surname, Kan is one of many variants of Cohen.
As a Korean surname, Kan is the Yale Romanization and McCune–Reischauer spelling of the uncommon surname spelled in the Revised Romanization as Gan (Korean: 간; Hanja: 簡). The hanja for this surname is the same one which is used to write the Chinese surname Jiǎn mentioned above. The bearers of this surname in Korea identify with a number of bon-gwan, which are hometowns of a clan lineage. The most common of these is the Gapyeong Gan clan. The clan's founding ancestor Gan Gyun (간균; 簡筠), an official under Myeongjong of Goryeo, settled in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, which became the clan hometown.
Additionally, Kan may be a transcription of the common Korean surname Kang (Korean: 강; Hanja: 姜, 江, 康) via the Kontsevich system spelling in the Cyrillic alphabet (Кан). This spelling can be found among ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union (Koryo-saram and Sakhalin Koreans).
Kan is also a Turkish surname.
Statistics
In the Netherlands, there were 518 people with the surname Kan as of 2007, up from 246 in 1947. The increase is partly attributable to immigration from China and from Turkey.
According to statistics cited by Patrick Hanks, 715 people on the island of Great Britain and five on the island of Ireland bore the surname Kan as of 2011. In 1881 there had been seven people in Great Britain with the surname Kan, primarily at Middlesex.
The 2000 South Korean census found 2,429 people in 753 households with the surname spelled Gan in Revised Romanization.
The 2010 United States census found 3,005 people with the surname Kan, making it the 10,647th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 2,705 (10,816th most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, about four-fifths of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian, and one-tenth as White. It was the 453rd-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 Census who identified as Asian.
People with this name
Surname 闞 (阚)
Kan Qingzi (阚清子; born 1988), Chinese actress
Kan Wencong (阚文聪; born 1992), Chinese wushu taolu athlete
Kan Xuan (阚萱; born 1972), Chinese visual artist
Kan Ze (闞澤; died 243), official of the state of Eastern Wu
Surname 菅
Kazunori Kan (菅 和範; born 1985), Japanese football midfielder
Naoto Kan (菅 直人; born 1946), Japanese Prime Minister
Nobuko Kan (菅 伸子; born 1945), Japanese writer
Surname 簡
Andrew Kan Kai-yan (簡啟恩; fl. 2020s), Hong Kong police official
Billy Kan (簡志堅; born c. 1951), Hong Kong billionaire businessman
Brian Kan (簡炳墀; 1937–2022), Hong Kong horse trainer
Carmen Kan (簡慧敏; fl. 2020s), Hong Kong politician
Kan Fook-yee (簡福飴; born 1936), Hong Kong surveyor
Hok Hoei Kan (簡福輝; 1881–1951), Dutch East Indies landowner
Kan Jong-woo (born 1982), South Korean singer, twin brother of Kan Jong-wook
Kan Jong-wook (born 1982), South Korean singer, twin brother of Kan Jong-woo
Kan Lai Bing (簡麗冰; 1933–2024), Hong Kong librarian
Masayoshi Kan (簡 優好; born 1972), Japanese sprinter
Kan Mi-youn (간미연; 簡美妍; born 1982), South Korean singer
Paul Kan Man-Lok (born 1947), Hong Kong technology businessman
Raymond Kan (簡日淦; 1932–?), Hong Kong architect
Kan Ting Chiu (简廷照; born 1946), Singaporean judge
Victor Kan (簡華捷; born 1941), Hong Kong martial artist
Willy Kan (簡慧榆; 1978–1999), Hong Kong jockey
Kan Yuet-keung (簡悅強; 1913–2012), Hong Kong banker
Other
Kán, a Hungarian noble family
Aleksander Kan (1925–2017), Russian-born Swedish history professor
Alexander Rinnooy Kan (born 1949), Dutch mathematician
Chinfa Kan (康珍化; born 1953), Japanese lyricist of Korean descent
Dan Kan (executive), American technology executive
Daniel Kan (1927–2013), Dutch mathematician
Derek Kan (甘達慶), American business executive and government official
Francisco Luna Kan (1925–2023), Mexican politician
Gene Kan (1976–2002), British-born American computer programmer
Georges Kan (born 1958), French musicologist
Hanae Kan (韓英恵; born 1990), Japanese actress of Korean descent
Ilya Kan (1909–1978), Soviet chess player
Justin Kan (born 1983), American internet entrepreneur
Nachan Kan (fl.c. 1514–1544), Maya ruler
Raybon Kan (born 1996), New Zealand comedian
Ravza Kavakçı Kan (born 1972), Turkish politician
Sergei Kan (born 1953), Soviet-born American anthropologist
Shiu-Kay Kan (born 1951), Hong Kong-born British architect
