Aren
A Persian name meaning "lightning" or representing the god of lightning.
Name Census estimates that about 2,458 living Americans carry the first name Aren. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Aren today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aren births was 2024 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aren. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aren with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 139,444 Americans
Peak year
2024
90 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,889
Tracked since 1925
Census
Aren in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,212 people with the first name Aren, which placed it at #7,036 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,036
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aren
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aren is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Black (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aren described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aren at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.5% · 1,492
- Hispanic or Latino12.0% · 265
- Black or African American8.0% · 178
- Two or more races6.3% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 124
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Aren
Aren leans heavily male at 86.2% of total registrations, but 348 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Aren as a male name
- Ranked #1,889 in 2024
- 84 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (84 births)
Aren as a female name
- Ranked #13,603 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aren leans strongly male. 1,862 people counted with this name were male (84.5%), compared with 342 female bearers (15.5%).
Popularity
Aren: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aren from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 579 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aren remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aren by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aren during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Aren, while Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 98 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aren
The name Aren has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, tracing back to the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It is derived from the Armenian word "aren," which means "immaculate" or "pure." The name carries a sense of purity, innocence, and untainted virtue.
Historically, the name Aren has been associated with several notable figures in Armenian history and literature. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 5th century, when Aren was the name of a prominent Armenian scholar and theologian. He is credited with translating numerous works from Greek into Armenian, contributing significantly to the preservation of ancient knowledge.
In the 10th century, Aren the Patrician was a renowned Armenian nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the defense of the Armenian Kingdom of Ani against invading forces. His bravery and leadership earned him a place in the annals of Armenian history.
Another notable figure bearing the name Aren was Aren Eminian (1879-1962), an influential Armenian writer and poet. His works explored themes of national identity, freedom, and the Armenian struggle for independence. Eminian's literary contributions helped shape the cultural landscape of modern Armenian literature.
Moving forward in time, Aren Harutyunyan (1952-2020) was a prominent Armenian writer and journalist. He was recognized for his sharp wit and insightful commentary on contemporary Armenian society and politics. Harutyunyan's works were widely read and respected within the Armenian literary community.
In the realm of sports, Aren Zakharyan (born 2003) is a rising star in Armenian football. At a young age, he has already represented the Armenian national team and has garnered international attention for his exceptional skills and potential on the pitch.
While the name Aren has deep roots in Armenian culture, it has also found its way into other languages and cultures over time. However, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Armenian kingdom, where it carried connotations of purity and virtue.
People
Aren + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aren as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aren: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aren?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,458 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aren going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 139,444 US residents.
Is Aren a common name?
We classify Aren as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,524 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aren most popular?
The single biggest year for Aren was 2024, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aren is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aren in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,212 people with the name Aren, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,036 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aren in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aren?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aren leans strongly male. 1,862 people counted with this name were male (84.5%), compared with 342 female bearers (15.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aren?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aren is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Black (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aren most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.5% (1,492 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aren in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aren a male name?
Yes, 86.2% of people registered as Aren in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Aren still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aren in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aren can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Aren?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.