How Many People Are Named Ariel?
An estimated 96,211 people in the United States have the first name Ariel. It is used for both genders, with 78.4% female. The average bearer is 24 years old, and Ariel peaked in popularity in 1991 with 6,077 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ariel 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 Ariel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
96,211
About 1 in 3,563 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
78.4% confidence
Average Age
24
years old
Peak Year
1991
6,077 births
Total Registered
99,253
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ariel
Ariel is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (21.6%) and females (78.4%). Out of 99,253 total births registered, 21,430 were male and 77,823 were female.
Ariel as a male name
Ranked #511 in 2024
595 male births in 2024
Peak: 1991 (666 births)
Ariel as a female name
Ranked #299 in 2024
1,051 female births in 2024
Peak: 1991 (5,411 births)
Ariel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ariel span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 32,804 babies were registered. Ariel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ariel by Decade
How has Ariel 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 15 | 0 | 15 | |
| 1900s | 52 | 0 | 52 | |
| 1910s | 201 | 45 | 156 | |
| 1920s | 209 | 80 | 129 | |
| 1930s | 136 | 53 | 83 | |
| 1940s | 131 | 45 | 86 | |
| 1950s | 188 | 125 | 63 | |
| 1960s | 584 | 445 | 139 | |
| 1970s | 2,197 | 1,480 | 717 | |
| 1980s | 9,329 | 2,976 | 6,353 | |
| 1990s | 32,804 | 4,662 | 28,142 | |
| 2000s | 20,760 | 4,495 | 16,265 | |
| 2010s | 23,708 | 4,341 | 19,367 | |
| 2020s | 8,939 | 2,683 | 6,256 | |
Ariel by State
Birth registrations for Ariel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota. On average, about 1,851 Ariels were registered per state.
Ariel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ariel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ariel
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Ariel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ariel?
We estimate approximately 96,211 people named Ariel 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 3,563 Americans share this first name.
Is Ariel a common name?
Ariel is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 99,253 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ariel most popular?
Ariel reached peak popularity in 1991, when 6,077 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ariel is approximately 24 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ariel a female name?
Ariel is predominantly female. 78.4% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ariel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ariel Smith, Ariel Johnson, Ariel 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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