ninan.org

Allen

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~171,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#578 among boys
Births in 2025
507 273,662 since 1880
Typical age
57 years, median

Allen popularity over time

Allen rank by birth year, 1880–2025Allen ranked #82 in 1880 and #578 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #71, in 1940.#100#578best #71 in 194018901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Allen was used most in 1951, when 5,203 babies were given the name. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. It has held a top-100 place in 83 separate years.

As of 2025 the name sits at #578, with 507 births that year. Over ten years the count has fallen 48%.

Babies named Allen per yearPeaks at 5,203 births in 1951.5,203 in 1951018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Allen?

Roughly 171,600 Allens are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 273,662 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Allen?

The typical living Allen is 57 years old. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Allen a mid-century perennial name.

Your Allen

Ages of living people named AllenHalf of living Allens are older than 57 and half younger.median 57020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Allen is most common

Relative to births, Louisiana carries 1.8× the national share of Allens. Pennsylvania, Mississippi and California follow.

Where Allen is used more than average5 states use the name Allen more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: 1.4× the national rateOHPennsylvania: 1.7× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.5× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 1.8× the national rateLAMississippi: 1.6× the national rateMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Allen is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Louisiana 133 1.8×
Pennsylvania 334 1.7×
Mississippi 68 1.6×
California 1,028 1.5×
Ohio 273 1.4×

Allen in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Allen ranked #3,256 in 2025 on 6 births. That is 33% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Allen comes from

English Wiktionary: given name from Celtic languages.

Notable people named Allen

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Allen Ginsberg American poet and writer 1926–1997 93
Allen Iverson American basketball player 1975 58
Allen Dulles first civilian and longest-serving Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) 1893–1969 48
Allen Newell American cognitive scientist 1927–1992 35
Allen Johnson American hurdler 1971 30
Allen Chastanet Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 2016 to 2021 1960 28
Allen Carr British author 1934–2006 27
Allen Klein American businessman, music publisher 1931–2009 27
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 414 in 1911 to 743 in 1912 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Allen

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/allen.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).