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a male given name: from a Celtic word meaning “harmony.”.
a nomadic Iranian people who flourished in the 2nd–4th centuries a.d. and are ancestors of the present-day Ossets.
Contemporary Examples

(We’ll leave Shirley Chisholm, Alan Keyes and Carol Moseley-Braun out of this).
Irrational Obama Exuberance John Avlon November 25, 2008

Alan instructs Tron on the final leg of the mission: Destroy the MCP.
Catch Up on Tron: Watch 6 Key Moments Alex Berg December 15, 2010

His co-chairman, Alan Simpson, then weighed in with an assertion that it would happen in less than two years.
Paul Krugman: Austerity Is So Wrong! Paul Krugman May 5, 2012

Last summer, DC Comics revealed that Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, was gay.
Could Spider-Man Be Gay? Andrew Garfield Thinks So. Kevin Fallon July 9, 2013

Alan Greenspan lasted as the head of the Federal Reserve until 2006, leaving at the age of 79.
Don’t Count Rupert Murdoch Out Yet: Why The Magnate Hasn’t Given Up on Time Warner Daniel Gross July 15, 2014

Historical Examples

“Troth, Mr. Macgregor, it’s not a name to be ashamed of,” answered Alan.
Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson

We had just about tautened the tow-line when Alan’s voice rang out.
Rdan The Devil And Other Stories Louis Becke

You see Phil is seventeen and Alan is five, and between them we eight come in; so we are “just like steps,” as she says.
We Ten Lyda Farrington Kraus

With lips pressed together, and ears strained, Alan had heard every word.
Chatterbox, 1906 Various

The boy picked it up with such roughness that Alan flinched on behalf of his card.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town Cory Doctorow

masc. proper name, 1066, from Old Breton Alan, name of a popular Welsh and Breton saint; brought to England by the large contingent of Bretons who fought alongside William the Conqueror.