first name
ALLEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 166,924 people named Allen, 71.6% reported their origin as White, 12.8% as Black and 6.2% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are male (99.5%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Allen peaked in 1951, when 5,203 babies got the name.
At least 273,662 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Allen by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #151. The largest share of babies named Allen, 32.2%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Allen is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Allen has been most common in North Dakota (2×), South Dakota (1.8×), and Louisiana (1.7×), and least common in Arizona (0.63×).
263,712 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Allen
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Allen, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Allen ranks #35 of 156,621, with 465,583 people. See Allen as a last name
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🔎 ALLEN 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 1,809 Americans Rarer than 50.9% of us Peaked in 1951 with 5,203 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/allen/