[2] There is consensus that in modern English and French, the name is derived from the nomadic Iranian people known as the Alans, who settled in Western Europe during the Migration Period.
[6] Described by Roman authors as tall, blond, and warlike, the Alans were a nomadic Iranian people who lived on the Eurasian steppe and the Caucasus mountains.
Canu Aneirin, B2.28, line 1125: "gnaut i-lluru alan buan bithei", "it was usual for him to be fleet like a deer"[12]), Modern Welsh elain (plural alanedd) "young deer" (and the plant name alan "coltsfoot, elecampane"), coming from a Brittonic root *alan- or *elan (also attested in Celtiberian in personal names such as Elanus, Elaesus, and Ela[13]), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *(H1)el-Hn- "deer, hind" (perhaps denoting an animal - generally cervids - with red or brown fur).
In Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland, Alan may also be an Anglicisation of an Irish word (with diminutive suffix) meaning "rock".
[17] Similarly, according to Patrick Woulfe, the Irish name Ailín is derived from diminutive ail, which means "noble", "rock".
[5][20][note 1] Another similar-looking word in Irish is álainn and Scottish Gaelic àlainn, which means "beautiful".
[4][17] The Bretons formed a significant part of William, Duke of Normandy's army at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
[33] Early occurrences of the name in British records include: Alanus in 1066 (in the Domesday Book); and Alain in 1183.
[20] This family descends from Alan fitz Flaad, an Anglo-Breton knight, who possessed lands in what is modern day Shropshire, England.