Cahan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAH-hun
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,021 for boys
- Style
- Big in Northern Ireland
Cahan is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “battle”. In 2025 it ranked 3,021st for boys in the UK (7 babies).
What does Cahan mean?
Irish: from Irish Cathan, root of the surname O'Kane
“battle”
Cathan gave rise to the O Cathain or O'Cahan family, medieval lords of much of what became County Londonderry.
Is Cahan a girl's or a boy's name?
Cahan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 7 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Cahan in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,021st among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 7 about 1 in 43,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 13% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 7 boys in the UK were named Cahan, making it the 3,021st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,025th.
2025 had the most boys named Cahan of any year since it first appeared, in 2002.
Half of all the boys named Cahan in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 10 boys in the UK were given Cahan or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,959, up from #3,021 for this spelling alone.
- Cahan 7
- Kahan 3
Among boys in 2025, it was 253rd in Northern Ireland.
Cahan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #3,021 |
| 2024 | 5 | #3,772 |
| 2023 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,219 |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 4 | #4,025 |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,184 |
| 2018 | 5 | #3,596 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,161 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 1 | #4,262 |
Names like Cahan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Conan, Finn, Ronan, Callan, Conlan, Rowan, Caelan, Brody, Conn, Rogan, Keegan, Lochlan
Names related to Cahan
More Irish names
Oscar, Rory, Maeve, Aiden, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Connor, Declan, Casey, Kennedy, Lennon, Cillian
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cahan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cahan, updated 20 October 2026.