Aslan is the Turkish word for "lion" and has been a given name among Turkic peoples for centuries, carried by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan. C. S. Lewis chose it for the great lion of The Chronicles of Narnia, which is how most American parents met it. Aslan has climbed steadily, from number 2867 in 2015 to its first appearance in the US top 1000 in 2025, where it ranks number 860 among boys.