Mulans

Mulans is the plural form of the given name Mulan in English usage. It may refer to more than one person named Mulan or to multiple adaptations or versions of the Mulan character in literature and media. In ordinary usage, Mulans is uncommon and typically appears in encyclopedic or naming contexts rather than as a standard noun.

Mulan (木兰) is a Chinese given name. The character is also the subject of the Ballad of Mulan, a folk tale about a young woman who disguises herself as a man to join the army in place of her father. The ballad’s oldest surviving versions date to the Northern Wei dynasty (roughly 4th–6th centuries). The name itself is usually associated with meanings related to wood and orchid, though exact interpretations vary.

In modern popular culture, the name Mulan is widely known through Disney’s animated film (1998) and its live-action adaptation (2020). These works retell or reinterpret the legend and have helped shape contemporary perceptions of the character, often highlighting themes of courage, filial duty, and gender roles. When discussing multiple attestations or media representations, Mulans may appear as a plural reference to several embodiments of the character or to people named Mulan.

Mulans, as a plural, is not a standard historical or literary category, and there is no separate historical figure universally recognized under the name Mulans in major reference works. The term is primarily a linguistic byproduct of pluralizing a proper noun in English and is uncommon outside specific naming or cataloging contexts.