Arnel
A masculine given name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 637 living Americans carry the first name Arnel. It is a predominantly male name (97.4% of registrations). The average person named Arnel today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arnel births was 1962 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arnel. 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.
People living today
637
~ 1 in 538,076 Americans
Peak year
1962
23 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2021 SSA rank
#5,921
Tracked since 1913
Census
Arnel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,724 people with the first name Arnel, which placed it at #6,029 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
#6,029
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,724 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
77.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arnel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnel is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Black (6.9%). 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 Arnel 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 Arnel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander77.1% · 2,099
- White9.4% · 256
- Black or African American6.9% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 143
- Two or more races1.2% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Arnel
Arnel leans heavily male at 97.4% of total registrations, but 22 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Arnel as a male name
- Ranked #8,898 in 2021
- 8 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1970 (20 births)
Arnel as a female name
- Ranked #5,921 in 1963
- 6 female births in 1963
- Peak: 1962 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arnel leans strongly male. 2,627 people counted with this name were male (96.3%), compared with 101 female bearers (3.7%).
Popularity
Arnel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arnel from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 133 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arnel 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 Arnel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arnels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Arnel
The name Arnel is believed to have its origins in the Old French language, where it was derived from the word "arnel," meaning a small type of fruit or berry. This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of France and surrounding areas where Old French was spoken.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arnel can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appeared in medieval French literature and historical records. It was often used as a nickname or diminutive form of longer French names, such as Arnaud or Arnault.
While the name Arnel does not have any direct religious or scriptural references, it was commonly used among noble families and the aristocracy during the Middle Ages. This suggests that the name held a certain level of prestige and was associated with the upper echelons of society at the time.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Arnel was Arnel de Bediers, a French nobleman and military leader who lived during the 13th century. He served as a knight and participated in several crusades to the Holy Land.
Another individual of historical significance was Arnel de Trie, a French poet and trouvère from the 12th century. He was known for his contributions to the courtly love tradition and his lyrical compositions that were widely appreciated among the nobility.
In the realm of literature, the name Arnel was used by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in his influential medieval romance, "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion." The character of Arnel was portrayed as a loyal and valiant knight in the service of King Arthur.
Arnel de Vaucouleurs, a French clergyman and diplomat, played a significant role in the 15th century during the Hundred Years' War between France and England. He served as a negotiator and helped facilitate peace talks between the two nations.
Finally, Arnel de Montespan, a French nobleman from the 17th century, gained notoriety as the husband of the famous mistress of King Louis XIV, Madame de Montespan. Although not a prominent figure himself, his name is associated with this scandalous chapter in French royal history.
People
Arnel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arnel 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
Arnel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arnel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 637 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arnel 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 538,076 US residents.
Is Arnel a common name?
We classify Arnel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 831 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arnel most popular?
The single biggest year for Arnel was 1962, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arnel is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arnel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,724 people with the name Arnel, or 0.90 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,029 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 Arnel 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 Arnel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arnel leans strongly male. 2,627 people counted with this name were male (96.3%), compared with 101 female bearers (3.7%). 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 Arnel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnel is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Black (6.9%). 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 Arnel most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Arnel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.1% (2,099 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 Arnel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arnel a male name?
Yes, 97.4% of people registered as Arnel 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 Arnel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arnel 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 Arnel 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 Arnel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.