Aaron
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "high mountain" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 569,711 living Americans carry the first name Aaron. It sits at #79 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Aaron today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aaron births was 1989 (15,410 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Nicole (560,135).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aaron. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aaron with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Aaron is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 4,377 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
570K
~ 1 in 602 Americans
Peak year
1989
15,410 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#79
Tracked since 1880
Census
Aaron in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 494,243 people with the first name Aaron, which placed it at #89 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#89
National first-name rank
People counted
494K
494,243 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
163.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aaron
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aaron is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Black (11.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aaron described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aaron at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.0% · 311,193
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 80,993
- Black or African American11.7% · 57,723
- Two or more races4.2% · 20,742
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 19,377
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4,215
Gender
Gender distribution for Aaron
Out of the 614,747 babies given the name Aaron since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Aaron as a male name
- Ranked #79 in 2024
- 4,225 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (15,311 births)
Aaron as a female name
- Ranked #12,126 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (173 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aaron appears almost entirely male. Of the 494,237 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Aaron: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aaron from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 139,797 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aaron by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aaron during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aarons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Aaron, while Vermont, Wyoming, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11,913 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aaron
The name Aaron has its origins in the Hebrew language and is derived from the word "Harun" or "Aharon". It is believed to have been first used in ancient Israelite culture, dating back to around the 13th century BCE. The meaning of Aaron is often interpreted as "high mountain" or "exalted".
One of the earliest and most notable references to the name Aaron is found in the Hebrew Bible, where it is the name of the older brother of Moses. Aaron is portrayed as the first High Priest of the Israelites and a central figure in the Exodus narrative. This association with an important biblical figure likely contributed to the name's enduring popularity among Jewish and Christian communities.
The name Aaron also appears in various other ancient texts, including the Quran, where it is mentioned as the name of a prophet and the brother of Moses. This further reinforced its significance in the Islamic tradition.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aaron dates back to the 2nd century BCE, found in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish religious text. Throughout history, the name has been borne by several notable individuals, including:
1. Aaron of Alexandria (c. 570 CE - c. 630 CE), a Christian philosopher and theologian who played a significant role in the development of early Christian thought.
2. Aaron ben Samuel (c. 1300 CE - c. 1370 CE), a Jewish astronomer and mathematician from Spain, known for his contributions to the field of astronomy.
3. Aaron Burr (1756 - 1836), an American politician and lawyer who served as the third Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson.
4. Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), an American composer and conductor, known for his distinctive style and contributions to American classical music.
5. Aaron Spelling (1923 - 2006), an American film and television producer, best known for creating popular TV series like "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place".
The name Aaron has maintained its popularity across various cultures and time periods, thanks to its strong historical and religious significance. Its enduring presence serves as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and traditions from which it originated.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Aaron
People
Aaron + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aaron as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aaron: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aaron?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 569,711 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aaron going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 602 US residents.
Is Aaron a common name?
We classify Aaron as "Very Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 614,747 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aaron most popular?
The single biggest year for Aaron was 1989, when 15,410 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aaron is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aaron in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 494,243 people with the name Aaron, or 163.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #89 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aaron in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aaron?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aaron appears almost entirely male. Of the 494,237 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aaron?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aaron is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Black (11.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aaron most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aaron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.0% (311,193 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aaron in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aaron a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Aaron in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Aaron still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aaron in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aaron can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Aaron?
Find out how many people share the name Aaron on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.