Lathan is an English surname, a variant of Latham, which comes from an Old Norse word for "barns" that named villages in Lancashire and Yorkshire. As a first name it sounds like a cross between Nathan and Landon, which explains its modern appeal, especially in the American South. Lathan entered the top 1,000 in 2010, peaked at number 933 in 2011 and has dropped back to number 2,700 in 2025, with 48 births.