| Mei | Lan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful | Orchid (兰) |
| Origin | chinese | Chinese |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | MAY | LAHN |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1947 | 1972 |
| Peak year | 2025 (117) | 1982 (47) |
| In 2025 | 117 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Mei | Lan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 483 | 0 |
| 2010s | 483 | 61 |
| 2000s | 385 | 92 |
| 1990s | 191 | 183 |
| 1980s | 136 | 336 |
| 1970s | 110 | 97 |
| 1960s | 37 | 0 |
| 1950s | 16 | 0 |
| 1940s | 18 | 0 |
From Chinese 美 (měi) 'beautiful'. One of the most direct beauty characters used in given names (another 梅 means 'plum blossom'; this entry is for 美 'beautiful').
Lan is commonly the character 兰, “orchid,” a flower of refinement.
Mei is more popular than Lan today: about 117 US babies were given the name Mei in 2025, compared with 0 named Lan.
Mei means Beautiful (chinese origin), while Lan means Orchid (兰) (Chinese origin).
In US records, Mei first appears in 1947 and Lan in 1972, so Mei has the longer recorded history.