Glen
Valley used as a given name for both males and females.
Name Census estimates that about 70,666 living Americans carry the first name Glen. It is a predominantly male name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Glen today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Glen births was 1957 (2,948 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Glen. 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 Glen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Glen is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,348 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Glen have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
71K
~ 1 in 4,850 Americans
Peak year
1957
2,948 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,315
Tracked since 1880
Census
Glen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 72,859 people with the first name Glen, which placed it at #702 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
#702
National first-name rank
People counted
73K
72,859 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
24.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Glen is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Glen 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 Glen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 60,531
- Black or African American8.1% · 5,896
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 1,979
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 1,950
- Two or more races2.6% · 1,879
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 624
Gender
Gender distribution for Glen
Glen leans heavily male at 98.9% of total registrations, but 1,348 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Glen as a male name
- Ranked #2,315 in 2024
- 61 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (2,925 births)
Glen as a female name
- Ranked #12,452 in 1988
- 5 female births in 1988
- Peak: 1926 (36 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Glen appears almost entirely male. Of the 72,858 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Glen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Glen from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 25,604 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Glen 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 Glen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Glens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Glen, while Vermont, Delaware, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,341 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Glen
The name Glen is a Scottish English name derived from the Gaelic word "gleann," which means "valley." It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or in a valley. The name has been in use since the Middle Ages and has a long and rich history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Glen is in the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1264, where it appears as "Glendonyn." This suggests that the name was already in use in Scotland by the 13th century. The name also appears in various historical records and documents throughout the centuries, such as the Ragman Rolls of 1296 and the Bain's Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland from 1357.
In terms of famous bearers of the name, one of the earliest known figures was Glen Cuyn (born around 1120), a Scottish nobleman and landowner who held lands in Ayrshire. Another notable figure was Glen Urquhart (born around 1260), a Scottish chieftain and warrior who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity across Europe. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Glen Leyburn (1525-1584), an English Protestant reformer and bishop of Carlisle. Another notable figure from this era was Glen Riddell (1564-1628), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of navigation.
In more recent history, the name has continued to be popular, particularly in English-speaking countries. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Glen Miller (1904-1944), the American big band leader and trombonist who became one of the most popular musicians of the swing era.
Other notable figures with the name include Glen Cunningham (1909-1988), an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist in the 1500 meters; Glen Sather (born 1943), a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach; Glen Hansard (born 1970), an Irish musician and actor; and Glen Keane (born 1954), an American animator and illustrator who worked for Disney.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Glen
People
Glen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Glen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Glen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Glen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70,666 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Glen 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 4,850 US residents.
Is Glen a common name?
We classify Glen as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 126,977 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Glen most popular?
The single biggest year for Glen was 1957, when 2,948 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Glen is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Glen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 72,859 people with the name Glen, or 24.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #702 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 Glen 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 Glen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Glen appears almost entirely male. Of the 72,858 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Glen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Glen is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Glen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Glen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (60,531 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 Glen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Glen a male name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Glen 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 Glen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Glen 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 Glen 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 Glen as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.