Sloan is of Irish origin and means "raider". It was originally an occupational surname given to soldiers or raiders, derived from the Gaelic word "sluaghghorm" which means "hostile raiding party". The name Sloan became popular in the United States during the 19th century. It is sometimes used as a feminine name, but it's more commonly associated with males. Some famous individuals with the name Sloan include American actor and musician Sloan Wainwright, and Canadian singer-songwriter Sloan. Variant spellings of the name include Slone and Sloane.
The name Sloan experienced significant fluctuations in popularity over the past century and a half. It first appeared with notable frequency in 1885 (5 births), but then remained relatively uncommon until the early 1960s. The name began to gain traction around 1963, with 11 births that year, followed by a steady increase culminating in its peak popularity in 2021 with 94 births. Overall, there have been a total of 2748 babies named Sloan since 1885.