Fun Facts About the Name Canaan
- More than 6 thousand babies named Canaan: U.S. records list 6,165 babies given the name Canaan from 1880 through 2025. Even 324 girls received the name Canaan - about 1 girl for every 18 boys.
What Does the Name Canaan Mean?
Canaan is a Hebrew name, written Kənaʿan in the Hebrew Bible, where it names both a person and a region. Its meaning is uncertain. The explanation most often offered derives it from the Hebrew root k-n-ʿ, "to bend low, be subdued," which would give a sense such as "lowland" or "low country," perhaps describing the coastal plain of the eastern Mediterranean. A second proposal connects the name with Akkadian kinahhu, "purple dye," the product for which the region's ports were known. A third looks to a Hurrian origin. None of these derivations has won general agreement. Later religious reading treated Canaan symbolically - Christian writers sometimes used it as a figure of promised rest or of heaven - but that is interpretation, not etymology.
Canaan Name History & Origins
In the Bible, Canaan is a son of Ham and a grandson of Noah (Genesis 9 - 10), and the name is applied to the land his descendants were said to occupy, roughly the area of present-day Israel, Lebanon, and western Jordan. The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 lists the peoples grouped under his name. Neighboring cultures used similar forms for the same region: the Amarna letters, written in the 14th century BCE, refer to Kinakhkhi, and Akkadian texts use Kinaḫḫu. The Greek and Roman world knew the coastal branch of these people as Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians, descended from Phoenician settlers, were called Punici in Latin.
As a personal name, Canaan is taken directly from the biblical place name rather than from a saint's name or a Latinized church form. It is used in English-speaking countries, mainly in the United States, as a masculine name and occasionally as a feminine one, and the spelling Kanaan appears in some European languages. It remains far less common as a given name than biblical names such as Abraham or Sarah that entered English through Latin and the churches.
How Popular is the Name Canaan?
Canaan recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2016. Its best rank was #671 in 2016.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,520 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #9,738 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #15,746 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #12,452 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #10,635 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #7,164 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2017 | #12,975 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #8,552 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #9,091 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #13,445 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #8,301 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2011 | #15,198 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #6,700 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #7,748 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #10,216 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #14,200 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #11,620 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #16,965 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #11,814 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #7,662 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #10,385 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #9,496 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #10,041 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #7,313 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #7,179 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1997 | #12,336 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #10,763 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #9,710 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #9,712 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #8,836 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #8,174 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #11,040 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #12,077 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #11,542 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #10,589 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,044 | 212 | 0.0124% |
| 2024 | #1,087 | 199 | 0.0116% |
| 2023 | #1,111 | 190 | 0.0111% |
| 2022 | #960 | 236 | 0.0135% |
| 2021 | #954 | 236 | 0.0135% |
| 2020 | #948 | 231 | 0.0134% |
| 2019 | #846 | 265 | 0.0148% |
| 2018 | #828 | 270 | 0.0149% |
| 2017 | #745 | 318 | 0.0172% |
| 2016 | #671 | 385 | 0.0203% |
| 2015 | #806 | 285 | 0.0149% |
| 2014 | #1,074 | 180 | 0.0094% |
| 2013 | #1,204 | 149 | 0.0079% |
| 2012 | #1,085 | 172 | 0.0091% |
| 2011 | #1,137 | 159 | 0.0084% |
| 2010 | #1,138 | 163 | 0.0085% |
| 2009 | #1,228 | 146 | 0.0074% |
| 2008 | #1,182 | 150 | 0.0074% |
| 2007 | #1,278 | 137 | 0.0066% |
| 2006 | #1,092 | 161 | 0.0078% |
| 2005 | #1,253 | 126 | 0.0063% |
| 2004 | #1,272 | 118 | 0.0059% |
| 2003 | #1,224 | 119 | 0.0060% |
| 2002 | #1,333 | 99 | 0.0051% |
| 2001 | #1,231 | 108 | 0.0056% |
| 2000 | #1,362 | 93 | 0.0047% |
| 1999 | #1,459 | 79 | 0.0041% |
| 1998 | #1,302 | 91 | 0.0048% |
| 1997 | #1,311 | 87 | 0.0046% |
| 1996 | #1,401 | 75 | 0.0040% |
| 1995 | #1,710 | 52 | 0.0027% |
| 1994 | #1,670 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1993 | #1,558 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1992 | #1,846 | 44 | 0.0022% |
| 1991 | #1,830 | 43 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #1,590 | 52 | 0.0025% |
| 1989 | #2,485 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1988 | #2,616 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1987 | #2,174 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1986 | #3,153 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #2,960 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1984 | #2,106 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1983 | #1,688 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 1982 | #2,852 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1981 | #2,352 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1980 | #2,980 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #3,028 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1978 | #3,637 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #2,376 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #3,294 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1975 | #3,468 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #2,973 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1973 | #4,573 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Canaan Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Canaan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Canaan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.