How Many People Are Named Arnold?
An estimated 42,702 people in the United States have the first name Arnold. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 64 years old, and Arnold peaked in popularity in 1924 with 2,031 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Arnold 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 Arnold paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Arnold is overwhelmingly male, 550 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Arnold has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
42,702
About 1 in 8,027 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
64
years old
Peak Year
1924
2,031 births
Total Registered
104,270
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Arnold
Arnold is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 104,270 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Arnold as a male name
Ranked #1,681 in 2024
99 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (2,014 births)
Arnold as a female name
Ranked #8,511 in 1977
6 female births in 1977
Peak: 1921 (21 births)
Arnold: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Arnold span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 19,693 babies were registered. Arnold has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Arnold by Decade
How has Arnold 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 | 404 | 404 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 859 | 859 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,546 | 1,546 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 12,673 | 12,586 | 87 | |
| 1920s | 19,693 | 19,531 | 162 | |
| 1930s | 17,995 | 17,888 | 107 | |
| 1940s | 16,106 | 16,038 | 68 | |
| 1950s | 13,252 | 13,195 | 57 | |
| 1960s | 9,548 | 9,497 | 51 | |
| 1970s | 3,705 | 3,687 | 18 | |
| 1980s | 2,578 | 2,578 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 2,695 | 2,695 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,695 | 1,695 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 999 | 999 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 522 | 522 | 0 | |
Arnold by State
Birth registrations for Arnold span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Illinois. The lowest are in Nevada, Wyoming, Delaware. On average, about 1,905 Arnolds were registered per state.
Arnold + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Arnold as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Arnold
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Arnold: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arnold?
We estimate approximately 42,702 people named Arnold 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 8,027 Americans share this first name.
Is Arnold a common name?
Arnold is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 104,270 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Arnold most popular?
Arnold reached peak popularity in 1924, when 2,031 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Arnold is approximately 64 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Arnold a male name?
Arnold is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Arnold Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Arnold Smith, Arnold Johnson, Arnold 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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