安（an）
Name meaning
安 (an) means peace, safety and a settled life. As a name character, it should feel calm, protective and dependable rather than passive.
Practical naming use
Use 安 (an) when the name should feel peaceful, safe and steady, with a real human image rather than a flat dictionary gloss. It suits a person image connected with protection, trust, education, family life, public service or calm leadership. The character is especially useful when the second character adds warmth, talent, breadth or moral direction, so the full name feels alive instead of merely quiet.
Pair 安 (an) with 然 (ran) for natural calm, 德 (de) for steady virtue, 宁 (ning) for quiet peace, 宇 (yu) for shelter and breadth, or 和 (he) for harmony. Avoid pairs whose pinyin repeats the same opening sound too closely, and avoid a second character that only repeats peace without adding a person-like direction.
安然 (Anran): An contributes peace, safety; Ran adds natural, so.
Reference
Du Fu, Song of the Thatched Cottage Broken by the Autumn Wind
Historical / name-use references
王安石 (Wang Anshi)
Wang Anshi (1021-1086) was a Northern Song statesman, reformer and poet. His given name directly contains 安 (an), giving the character a strong scholarly and public-service anchor.