Hulen
Diminutive form of a Germanic name meaning "little hole or cave".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Hulen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hulen today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hulen births was 1923 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hulen. 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
- • The typical person named Hulen is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hulens were born before 1954.
People living today
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
1923
20 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1959 SSA rank
#4,252
Tracked since 1914
Census
Hulen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 178 people with the first name Hulen, which placed it at #41,266 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
#41,266
National first-name rank
People counted
178
178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hulen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hulen is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hulen 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 Hulen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 135
- Black or African American19.1% · 34
- Two or more races2.8% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Hulen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hulen from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 150 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Hulen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hulen 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 Hulen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hulens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Hulen, while Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hulen
The name Hulen is believed to have originated from the Old English language, which was spoken in parts of Britain from the 5th to the 11th century AD. It is derived from the Old English words "hūl" meaning "hole" or "hollow" and "ēn" meaning "valley" or "meadow." Together, the name Hulen could have been used to refer to someone who lived in a valley or near a hollow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hulen can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of landowners and properties in England, commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Hulen in the county of Lincolnshire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hulen was not uncommon among the peasantry and lower classes in parts of England. It is possible that the name may have been associated with a particular occupation or trade, such as that of a farmer or shepherd, as these professions were commonly found in rural areas with valleys and hollows.
One notable historical figure with the name Hulen was Hulen de Burgh, a 13th century English nobleman who served as a baron and military commander under King Henry III. He was born in 1218 and died in 1275.
Another individual with this name was Hulen Fitzwalter, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was a prominent landowner and served as the Sheriff of Wiltshire in England during the reign of King John.
In the 15th century, there was a Hulen Craven, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the city of York, England. Records show that he was actively involved in the wool trade and owned several properties within the city.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Hulen Browne was an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1554 to 1559. He was born in 1495 and died in 1559.
Lastly, in the 17th century, there was a Hulen Hawkins, an English poet and writer who was born in 1622 and died in 1691. He is known for his collection of poems titled "The Poetical Works of Hulen Hawkins."
People
Hulen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hulen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hulen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hulen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hulen 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 3,087,877 US residents.
Is Hulen a common name?
We classify Hulen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 469 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hulen most popular?
The single biggest year for Hulen was 1923, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hulen is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hulen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 178 people with the name Hulen, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,266 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 Hulen 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 Hulen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hulen leans strongly male. 176 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.8%). 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 Hulen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hulen is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hulen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hulen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (135 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 Hulen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hulen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hulen 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 Hulen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hulen 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 Hulen 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 Hulen as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.