| Sources | Pronunciation guide |
(Main) gender: Female, can be male as well
Pronunciation: rahn [ɾã́ɴ̀]
Archaic writing: らむ
Etymology and/or ways to write:
蘭, which means “orchid,” is the most often used kanji for this name by both girls and boys, followed by 藍 meaning “indigo.” 嵐, meaning “storm, tempest,” is the next most often used kanji after these two, though it tends to be primarily masculine in usage. Though rarely used, they can be suffixed with a kanji that can be reduced to the moraic nasal N, e.g. 音 meaning “sound.”
Popularity:
By the late Edo period (1603-1868), usage for Ran as a feminine name was uncommon. The average percentage, taken from Tsunoda and Collazo, would be around 0.073% at the time. After hitting a low for much of the Shōwa period (1926-1989), it started to rise again for girls (as well as boys) in the 1980s.
Regarding Heisei period (1989-2019) popularity, around 0.07% of girls and around 0.02% of boys were given this name in 1990, increasing to over 0.09% (girls) and over 0.01% (boys) by 2000. Though it dropped a little throughout the early-mid 2000s, starting in 2009, its rise took on a slightly steeper turn which ended up placing Ran in the girls’ top 100 by the mid-2010s. According to my preliminary 2014-8 names research, over 0.33% of girls born in that time period received this name.
If you would like to add in your thoughts about this name, please share them in the comments below.
Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi 