A surname meaning 'verbose', from the ancient state of Zhan.
Why it scores this way
Easy to say76
Mostly easy. The only friction is zh, which English speakers usually turn into something close.
Recognised in China45
Outside the top 100 — distinctive, but some people will ask you to repeat or write it.
Easy to write55
13 strokes — more than most; it will take real practice to write smoothly.
People who carried this name
Zhan Tianyou — Pioneer railway engineer (1861–1919), built China's first self-designed railway.
Zhan Antai — Renowned Chinese classical literature scholar and ci poetry expert, professor at Sun Yat-sen University, author of influential works on Song ci.
Zhan Bohui — Distinguished Chinese linguist, pioneer in Chinese dialectology, professor at Jinan University, led comprehensive dialect surveys.