Mahan is both a surname and a given name.
When used as given name in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
(
ماهان ''māhān''), it means "like the moon" or "moon-like", or even referring to something "as beautiful as the moon".
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
*
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Power ...
(1840–1914), American officer, geostrategist, and naval historian
*
Armand Mahan (born 1983), Ivorian football player
*
Art Mahan (1913–2010), American baseball player
*
Asa Mahan
Asa Mahan (; November 9, 1799April 4, 1889) was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator and the first president of both the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (later Oberlin College) and Adrian College. He described himself as "a religious teacher ...
(1800–1889), first president of Oberlin College
*
Dennis Hart Mahan
Dennis Hart Mahan (Mă-hăn) əˈhæn(April 2, 1802 – September 16, 1871) was a noted American military theorist, civil engineer and professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1824–1871. He was the father of Amer ...
(1802–1871), professor at the US Military Academy, father of Alfred
*
Eddie Mahan
Edward William Mahan (January 19, 1892 – July 22, 1975) was an American football player. While playing halfback for Harvard, Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American three consecutive years from 1913 to 1915. He was widely regarded as ...
(1892–1975), American football player
*
Hunter Mahan
Hunter Myles Mahan (born May 17, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is a winner of two World Golf Championship events, the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. ...
(born 1981), American golfer
*
Larry Mahan
Larry Mahan (born November 21, 1943) is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit at the National ...
(born 1943), eight time rodeo world champion
*
Sean Mahan (born 1980), American football player
*
William Dennes Mahan (1824–1906), Presbyterian minister and author of ''The Archko Volume''
Given name
*
Mahan Mitra
Mahan Mj (born Mahan Mitra (Bengali: মহান মিত্র), 5 April 1968), also known as Mahan Maharaj and Swami Vidyanathananda, is an Indian mathematician and monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He is currently Professor of Mathematics at ...
, Indian mathematician
*
Mahan Esfahani, Iranian-American harpsichordist
{{given name, type=both