Arlen
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew words meaning "pledge" or "promise".
Name Census estimates that about 5,211 living Americans carry the first name Arlen. It is a predominantly male name (90.2% of registrations). The average person named Arlen today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlen births was 1934 (215 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlen. 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 Arlen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.2K
~ 1 in 65,775 Americans
Peak year
1934
215 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,680
Tracked since 1909
Census
Arlen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,822 people with the first name Arlen, which placed it at #3,545 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
#3,545
National first-name rank
People counted
5.8K
5,822 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arlen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlen is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Arlen 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 Arlen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.4% · 3,867
- Hispanic or Latino22.1% · 1,287
- Black or African American3.4% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 196
- Two or more races2.9% · 169
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 107
Gender
Gender distribution for Arlen
Arlen leans heavily male at 90.2% of total registrations, but 786 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Arlen as a male name
- Ranked #1,680 in 2024
- 99 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1934 (206 births)
Arlen as a female name
- Ranked #6,174 in 2024
- 19 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (31 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Arlen on both sides of the split. Of the 5,836 people counted with this name, 4,605 were male (78.9%) and 1,231 were female (21.1%).
Popularity
Arlen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlen from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 1,713 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Arlen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlen 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 Arlen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Texas recorded the most babies named Arlen, while Mississippi, Massachusetts, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 99 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlen
The name Arlen originated from the Old English word "ærn," which means "dwelling" or "house." This name first appeared in the 8th century AD in England and was primarily used as a surname before becoming a given name.
During the Middle Ages, the name was primarily found in regions of England and Scotland, where it was commonly spelled as "Arlene" or "Arlyne." The earliest recorded instance of the name Arlen dates back to the Domesday Book, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, where it was listed as a surname.
In the 14th century, the name Arlen appeared in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous English poet and author. Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" includes a character named "Arlen of Bukton," which suggests the name was in use during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the given name Arlen was Arlen Fierson, a Scottish merchant and trader who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Arlen Fairchild, an English soldier who fought in the War of the Roses (1455-1487).
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity among Puritans in England and was sometimes used as a variation of the name "Arlene." One of the most well-known individuals with this name was Arlen Dyer, an English Protestant reformer and writer who lived from 1530 to 1594.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Arlen spread to other parts of Europe and North America, where it was adopted by various communities. One notable figure from this period was Arlen Witherspoon, an American Revolutionary War soldier who fought alongside George Washington (1732-1794).
In the 19th century, the name Arlen saw a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Arlen Sackler, an American philanthropist and entrepreneur who co-founded Purdue Pharma (1915-2010).
Another notable figure from this era was Arlen Tatum, an American jazz pianist and composer widely regarded as one of the greatest virtuosos of his time (1909-1956).
Notable bearers
Famous people named Arlen
People
Arlen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlen 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
Arlen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlen 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 65,775 US residents.
Is Arlen a common name?
We classify Arlen as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,023 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlen most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlen was 1934, when 215 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlen is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arlen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,822 people with the name Arlen, or 1.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,545 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 Arlen 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 Arlen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Arlen on both sides of the split. Of the 5,836 people counted with this name, 4,605 were male (78.9%) and 1,231 were female (21.1%). 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 Arlen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlen is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Arlen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arlen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (3,867 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 Arlen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arlen a male name?
Yes, 90.2% of people registered as Arlen 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 Arlen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arlen 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 Arlen 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 are named Arlen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.