Boys' name · peaked in 1916
Arnold name popularity since 1925
79,112 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Arnold. Half of them were born in 1947 or earlier, so the typical Arnold is about 79 years old in 2026. Arnold peaked in 1916 as the #89 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 79,112
- Named Arnold, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1916
- #89 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,477 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 387 girls · 78,725 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 3.47× its national share
Peak year is the year Arnold made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Arnold births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1927. Measured as a share of all babies, Arnold peaked earlier, in 1916.
- Fastest rise: Between 1985 and 1990, Arnold became 1.5× more common, from 1 in 9,580 baby boys to 1 in 6,280.
- Steepest fall: Between 2001 and 2006, its share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 8,870 to 1 in 15,500.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Arnold's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Arnold.
Decade by decade
Babies named Arnold in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 86 | 9,805 | – |
| 1930s | 107 | 17,888 | #103 |
| 1940s | 68 | 16,036 | #147 |
| 1950s | 57 | 13,196 | #197 |
| 1960s | 51 | 9,501 | #241 |
| 1970s | 18 | 3,688 | #445 |
| 1980s | 0 | 2,578 | #634 |
| 1990s | 0 | 2,695 | #692 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,696 | #1,076 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,000 | #1,657 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 642 | #1,477 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
39.8% of babies named Arnold from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Arnold is most popular
The index compares Arnold's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Arnold.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 3.47× | 832 |
| South Dakota | 2.49× | 603 |
| West Virginia | 2.44× | 1,630 |
| Maine | 2.19× | 711 |
| Kentucky | 1.93× | 2,452 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Arnold's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Arnold.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Arnold (1916).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data