Luan

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Albanian
Meaning: “lion.”
(LOO-ahn). Br Portuguese (loo-AHN)

The name comes from the Albanian word for lion and for whatever reason is also a very popular name in Brazil.

Its popularity in Brazil is a mystery but may be due to the fact that it sounds similar to the Portuguese word for moon, lua. In any case, according to Baby Center Brazil, it is the 58th most popular male name in Brazil (2010).

A feminine form is Luana, which is currently a very popular name in Albania, Romania and  Switzerland.

The name is borne by several famous Brazilians, including soccer player, Luan Andrade Santana (b.1988), soccer player Luan Michel Louza (b.1988) and pop singer Luan Santana (b.1991).