English and Scottish: derived from a Celtic personal name that is both ancient and obscure. In England, the personal name Alan and the surname Allen are now more often used; in Scotland, the surname Allan is more commonly used. Other names that may be derived from the same original name include Alun, Alphonse, Antony, Arlo, Austin, Baldwin, Barthelomew, Bertram, Brodrick, Bryan, Charles, Christopher, Collin, Conard, Corbin, Crawford, Curwen, Dacey, David, Edward, Edmund, Ephraim, Esau, Evan, Francis, Frederick, Geoffrey, Gilbert, Glenn, Graham, Grant, Henry, Hugh, Irving, Isadore, Isaac, Jackson, James, John, Jonathan, Joseph, Kevin, Kurt, Lawrence, Leopold, Lewis, Lloyd, Loyd, Martin, Matthew, Michael, Morris, Nathan, Neill, Nicholas, Norman, Oswald, Parker, Paul, Pearce, Percy, Richard, Robert, Roderick, Roger, Samuel, Scott, Sean, Shawn, Sidney, Stephen, Stuart, Sullivan, Sylvanus, Thomas, Travis, Walter, William, Wilson. German: derived from a Germanic given name that means "bright" or "shining". Indian: derived from an Indian given name that means "the dark one" or "the black one".