Arliss
A masculine name of Scottish origin meaning "capable man".
Name Census estimates that about 591 living Americans carry the first name Arliss. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Arliss today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arliss births was 1933 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arliss. 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.
Key insights
- • Arliss sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
591
~ 1 in 579,957 Americans
Peak year
1933
68 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,704
Tracked since 1917
Census
Arliss in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 819 people with the first name Arliss, which placed it at #14,409 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
#14,409
National first-name rank
People counted
819
819 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arliss
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arliss is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Arliss 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 Arliss at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 656
- Black or African American8.7% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 22
- Two or more races2.4% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Arliss
Arliss is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,506 total registrations, 705 (46.8%) were male and 801 (53.2%) were female.
Arliss as a male name
- Ranked #4,704 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (26 births)
Arliss as a female name
- Ranked #13,626 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1933 (44 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Arliss on both sides of the split. Of the 823 people counted with this name, 362 were male (44.0%) and 461 were female (56.0%).
Popularity
Arliss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arliss from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 495 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arliss 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 Arliss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arliss' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa recorded the most babies named Arliss, while Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arliss
The name Arliss is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, deriving from the Old French name Arlis or Arliz. This name is thought to be a variant of the Germanic name Arlo, which means "fortified hill" or "eminence." The earliest recorded use of the name Arliss can be traced back to medieval France and England.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Arliss was Arliss de Montfort, a French nobleman who lived in the 12th century. He was a member of the powerful House of Montfort and served as a knight during the Crusades. Another notable figure from this era was Arliss of Canterbury, an English monk and scholar who lived in the late 12th century and wrote extensively on theological matters.
During the Renaissance period, the name Arliss gained some popularity among the English gentry. Arliss Wyndham (1555-1623) was a prominent English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was known for his expertise in legal matters and was instrumental in drafting several important laws.
In the 17th century, Arliss Browne (1608-1680) was an English Puritan clergyman and author. He wrote several religious works and was known for his fervent preaching style. Another notable figure from this time was Arliss Wilmot (1642-1712), an English soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Nova Scotia in the late 17th century.
Moving into the 18th century, Arliss Dickinson (1716-1799) was an American philosopher and writer who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. He was a staunch advocate for independence and wrote several influential essays and pamphlets.
In the 19th century, Arliss Tennyson (1809-1892) was a famous English poet and one of the most celebrated literary figures of the Victorian era. He was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Great Britain and is renowned for works such as "In Memoriam A.H.H." and "Idylls of the King."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Arliss. While not as common as some other names, Arliss has endured over the centuries and continues to be used as a first name in various parts of the world.
People
Arliss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arliss 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
Arliss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arliss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 591 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arliss 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 579,957 US residents.
Is Arliss a common name?
We classify Arliss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,506 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arliss most popular?
The single biggest year for Arliss was 1933, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arliss is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arliss in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 819 people with the name Arliss, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,409 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 Arliss 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 Arliss?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Arliss on both sides of the split. Of the 823 people counted with this name, 362 were male (44.0%) and 461 were female (56.0%). 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 Arliss?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arliss is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Arliss most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arliss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (656 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 Arliss in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arliss a female name?
Yes, 53.2% of people registered as Arliss in the SSA data are female. 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 Arliss still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arliss 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 Arliss 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 share the name Arliss?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.