How Many People Are Named Allen?
An estimated 177,027 people in the United States have the first name Allen. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #309 overall. It is predominantly male (99.3%). The average bearer is 55 years old, and Allen peaked in popularity in 1951 with 5,203 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Allen as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Allen paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Allen is overwhelmingly male, 1,866 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
177,027
About 1 in 1,936 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.3% confidence
Average Age
55
years old
Peak Year
1951
5,203 births
Total Registered
273,148
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Allen
Allen is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 273,148 total births registered, 99.3% were male.
Allen as a male name
Ranked #573 in 2024
497 male births in 2024
Peak: 1951 (5,179 births)
Allen as a female name
Ranked #8,975 in 2020
11 female births in 2020
Peak: 1925 (36 births)
Allen: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Allen span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 47,527 babies were registered. Allen has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Allen by Decade
How has Allen tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,998 | 1,998 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 2,013 | 2,002 | 11 | |
| 1900s | 2,590 | 2,558 | 32 | |
| 1910s | 11,670 | 11,493 | 177 | |
| 1920s | 20,347 | 20,092 | 255 | |
| 1930s | 24,568 | 24,357 | 211 | |
| 1940s | 39,264 | 39,047 | 217 | |
| 1950s | 47,527 | 47,321 | 206 | |
| 1960s | 37,919 | 37,695 | 224 | |
| 1970s | 21,824 | 21,672 | 152 | |
| 1980s | 22,100 | 21,910 | 190 | |
| 1990s | 17,046 | 16,952 | 94 | |
| 2000s | 12,619 | 12,576 | 43 | |
| 2010s | 8,859 | 8,816 | 43 | |
| 2020s | 2,804 | 2,793 | 11 | |
Allen by State
Birth registrations for Allen span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Delaware. On average, about 5,161 Allens were registered per state.
Allen + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Allen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Allen
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Allen: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Allen?
We estimate approximately 177,027 people named Allen are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,936 Americans share this first name.
Is Allen a common name?
Allen is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 273,148 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Allen most popular?
Allen reached peak popularity in 1951, when 5,203 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Allen is approximately 55 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Allen a male name?
Allen is predominantly male. 99.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Allen Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Allen Smith, Allen Johnson, Allen Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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