Alan (given name) masculine given name in the Welsh language; although it is not directly related to "Alan" (it is derived from Proto-Celtic "*alouno-" meaning either "nourishing" or "wandering"), today it is generally used as a variant form of the English name. An earlier bearer of this name is Alun of Dyfed, a character in the "Mabinogion". The name became popular in modern times when it was adopted as a bardic name by John Blackwell, a 19th-century Welsh poet. The short form of "Alan" is "Al". This name is a short form of numerous other etymologically unrelated names that begin with this syllable.
Brandon (given name) "Brandon" as a variant form of the Irish given name "Brendan" is an Anglicised form of the Old Irish name, "Bréanainn", which is in turn derived from the earlier Old Irish "Brénainn". The mediaeval Latin form of the name, Brendanus, has influenced its spelling in the modern English and Irish forms. However, the name has no meaning in the Irish language, and was absorbed from the Old Welsh "breenhin", meaning Prince or Chieftain. In the instance of the Welsh "Bran" as the origin, meaning "crow", there is also a general Celtic nebula of related words and names across the European