How rare is the name Arnold?

47,513 people in the United States have the first name Arnold, about 1 in 6,357. It ranks #940 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

ARNOLD

#940

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
47,513
About
1 in 6,357
This common or more
69.1%
Who bears it

Of the 47,513 people named Arnold, 58.7% reported their origin as White, 16% as Hispanic or Latino and 14.2% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Arnold peaked in 1924, when 2,031 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1924
Births that year
2,031
In 2025*
120 ▼94%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 104,396 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.

Arnold by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1910s, when it ranked #225. The largest share of babies named Arnold, 30.1%, were born between 1928 and 1945, the Silent Generation's birth years.

1880s#582404
1890s#483859
1900s#4061,546
1910s#22512,673
1920s#23319,693
1930s#24417,995
1940s#30916,104
1950s#42113,253
1960s#5399,552
1970s#9153,706
1980s#1,2342,578
1990s#1,4012,695
2000s#2,3021,696
2010s#3,5441,000
2020s#3,406642
Before 19011.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–2728.5%
Silent Generation 1928–4530.1%
Baby boom 1946–6424.5%
Generation X 1965–807.5%
Millennials 1981–964.1%
Generation Z 1997–122.5%
2013 and later1.3%

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 Arnold is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Arnold has been most common in North Dakota (4.3×), South Dakota (3.2×), and Vermont (2.6×), and least common in Delaware (0.45×).

97,243 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 Arnold

#938 Dianna · 47,528#939 Johnnie · 47,521#941 Tessa · 47,455#942 Ty · 47,425

Spelled almost the same

2 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Arnold, most common first.

#3,357 Arnoldo · 6,319#23,149 Arnol · 425

Also a last name

As a last name, Arnold ranks #214 of 156,621, with 132,160 people. See Arnold as a last name

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