Coypu described by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782 as "Mus coypus", a member of the mouse genus. The genus "Myocastor" was assigned in 1792 by Robert Kerr. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, independently of Kerr, named the species "Myopotamus coypus", and it is occasionally referred to by this name. Four subspecies are generally recognized: "M. c. bonariensis", the subspecies present in the northernmost (subtropical) part of the coypu's range, is believed to be the type of coypu most commonly introduced to other continents. Comparison of DNA and protein sequences showed that the genus "Myocastor" is the sister group to the genus "Callistomys" (painted tree-rats).
Alan (given name) what is today Brittany, France. An early figure who bore the name was St Alan, a 5th-century bishop of Quimper. This saint became a cult figure in the Brittany during the Middle Ages. Another early bearer of the name was St Alan, a 6th-century Cornish saint, who has a church dedicated to his memory in Cornwall (for example see St Allen, a civil parish in Cornwall named after this saint). Today the use of the given name (and its variants) is due to its popularity among the Bretons who imported the name to England, to Cornwall, and later to Ireland.