Alain

There are numerous differing etymologies attributed to the name. The name was first introduced into England by Bretons, who took part in the Norman Invasion in the 11th-century. Alan is also an ancient Breton personal name (hence the modern English name Alan), as well as being a French Norman name. In Breton, Alan is a colloquial term for a fox and may originally have meant “deer,” making it cognate with Old Welsh Alan. There are numerous variations of the name in English. The variants Allan and Allen are generally considered to be derived from the surnames Allan and Allen. Alanus de Rupe was a Roman Catholic theologian noted for his views on prayer. Some writers claim him as a native of Germany, though Cornelius Sneek assures us that he was born in Brittany.