兰（lan）
Name meaning
兰 (lan) means orchid, refined fragrance and quiet cultivated beauty. In naming it reads as elegance and inward grace, not sweetness alone.
Practical naming use
兰 (lan) is an orchid-and-refinement character. It gives a name fragrance, poise and literate softness, so the result feels graceful rather than delicate-only. It is especially useful for calm names, refined elegance, feminine names, because the character can carry a recognizable Chinese image without becoming empty dictionary filler. The best results come when the second character adds human direction, warmth, restraint or breadth, so the full given name feels lived-in rather than generic.
Pair 兰 (lan) with characters such as 宁 (ning) for quiet elegance, 文 (wen) for literary fragrance, 安 (an) for settled grace or 雅 (ya) for refined poise. The second character should keep the name floral without making it too perfumed.
兰文 (Lanwen): Lan contributes orchid, refined fragrance; Wen adds culture, writing.
Historical / name-use references
花木兰 (Hua Mulan)
Legendary heroine; 兰 (Lan) appears in the name 木兰 (Mulan).
Use notes
Classic feminine feel; not as modern alone.