Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Arden

Meaning high Gender Unisex · 47% girls Rank 2025 #1,005 Trend ↑ Rising 68%

Derived from the Brythonic ardu meaning "high"

Rank 2025
#1,005
among boys · ↓63 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
486
named Arden
How common
1 in 7,591
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
486 babies
All-time total
16,085
#1,320 all-time among boys
First recorded
1881
in Social Security records

Arden popularity over time

16,085 babies have been named Arden since 1881, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 15 15 2 – #873
1890s – 41 41 4 +173% #618
1900s – 66 66 7 +61% #658
1910s 16 681 697 70 +956% #541
1920s 111 1,159 1,270 127 +82% #535
1930s 434 1,266 1,700 170 +34% #466
1940s 224 981 1,205 121 -29% #559
1950s 236 688 924 92 -23% #767
1960s 186 402 588 59 -36% #1,017
1970s 94 224 318 32 -46% #1,418
1980s 166 176 342 34 +8% #2,200
1990s 634 221 855 86 +150% #2,768
2000s 1,535 538 2,073 207 +142% #1,830
2010s 2,435 942 3,377 338 +63% #1,381
2020s (to 2025) 1,447 1,167 2,614 436 +29% #942

Where Arden is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 246 0.14 outside top 500
2027 265 0.16 outside top 500
2028 282 0.17 outside top 500
2029 298 0.17 outside top 500
2030 312 0.18 outside top 500

Where Arden is most popular

Boys named Arden per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.116 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Washington, and Michigan.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Arden born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 30 0.245 +111%
Washington 39 0.238 +106%
Michigan 45 0.220 +90%
Wisconsin 24 0.203 +75%
Virginia 36 0.190 +64%
Colorado 24 0.186 +61%
Pennsylvania 45 0.169 +47%
North Carolina 42 0.164 +42%
Oregon 12 0.158 +37%
Ohio 40 0.151 +30%
California 113 0.124 +7%
New York 50 0.115 ≈ national
Georgia 29 0.114 ≈ national
Florida 53 0.112 ≈ national
Louisiana 10 0.098 -15%
Illinois 23 0.090 -22%
Kansas 5 0.073 -37%
Indiana 11 0.069 -41%
South Carolina 7 0.068 -41%
New Jersey 13 0.065 -44%
Texas 56 0.064 -45%
Utah 5 0.052 -55%
Arizona 6 0.037 -68%
Massachusetts 5 0.036 -69%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Arden

Arden is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,005 in 2025 with 225 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1881, 16,085 American babies have been named Arden, about 53% boys and 47% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 486 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Arden stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Arden?

The median living Arden is about 15 years old; half are between 6 and 33. An estimated 12 thousand people named Arden are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Arden year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 261 #975 225 #1,005
2024 241 #1,041 244 #942
2023 241 #1,046 214 #1,020
2022 241 #1,056 155 #1,255
2021 227 #1,091 161 #1,200
2020 236 #1,055 168 #1,153
2019 278 #951 129 #1,381
2018 274 #964 124 #1,408
2017 229 #1,102 122 #1,421
2016 275 #976 105 #1,564
2015 300 #918 92 #1,692
2014 245 #1,058 94 #1,642
2013 239 #1,039 69 #1,989
2012 223 #1,114 76 #1,892
2011 178 #1,320 76 #1,849
2010 194 #1,241 55 #2,327
2009 167 #1,409 70 #1,991
2008 219 #1,168 70 #2,002
2007 167 #1,419 79 #1,830
2006 148 #1,488 57 #2,224
2005 147 #1,445 57 #2,130
2004 159 #1,339 51 #2,245
2003 158 #1,308 57 #2,009
2002 143 #1,352 32 #2,886
2001 122 #1,523 30 #2,994
2000 105 #1,676 35 #2,625
1995 75 #1,864 26 #2,768
1990 25 #4,010 14 #3,981
1985 20 #3,989 18 #2,718
1980 10 #6,346 16 #2,838
1975 6 #8,047 25 #1,887
1970 12 #4,509 35 #1,418
1965 16 #3,155 29 #1,430
1960 25 #2,372 57 #1,017
1955 24 #2,225 61 #957
1950 20 #2,188 80 #767
1945 15 #2,239 92 #629
1940 27 #1,478 104 #581
1935 38 #1,135 118 #531
1930 90 #738 137 #508
1925 – – 110 #600
1920 – – 112 #590
1915 6 #3,817 93 #589
1910 – – 17 #730
1905 – – 11 #745
1900 – – – –
1895 – – 5 #1,087
1890 – – 6 #890
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Arden

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Arden Cho Arden Cho American entertainer (born 1985) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Arden, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Arden?

The median living Arden is about 15 years old. Half of all living Ardens are between 6 and 33 years old.

How many people named Arden are alive today?

An estimated 12 thousand people named Arden are alive in the United States, based on 16,085 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Arden mean?

Derived from the Brythonic ardu meaning "high"

How popular is the name Arden in 2025?

Arden ranked #1,005 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 225 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Arden?

16,085 babies have been named Arden in the United States since 1881, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Arden most popular?

Arden peaked in 2025, when 486 newborns received the name.

Is Arden a boy or girl name?

Arden is used for both: about 47% of babies named Arden have been girls and 53% boys.

Is the name Arden rising or falling?

Arden is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Arden become more popular?

Arden is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 312 boys named Arden in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Arden?

Well-known people named Arden include Arden Cho (actor).

Names like Arden

Names that sound and feel close to Arden: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Arden with similar names → More names starting with A →