Aden
From the Hebrew root ʿaden meaning "pleasure, delight" or "to be soft or delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 21,639 living Americans carry the first name Aden. It is a predominantly male name (97.1% of registrations). The average person named Aden today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aden births was 2006 (1,431 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aden. 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 Aden with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Aden is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 653 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Aden is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,840 Americans
Peak year
2006
1,431 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#997
Tracked since 1880
Census
Aden in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 20,023 people with the first name Aden, which placed it at #1,600 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
#1,600
National first-name rank
People counted
20K
20,023 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aden
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aden is White at 51.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%) and Black (17.1%). 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 Aden 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 Aden at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.0% · 10,213
- Hispanic or Latino19.7% · 3,938
- Black or African American17.1% · 3,426
- Two or more races6.3% · 1,254
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 1,013
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 179
Gender
Gender distribution for Aden
Aden leans heavily male at 97.1% of total registrations, but 653 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Aden as a male name
- Ranked #997 in 2024
- 225 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (1,407 births)
Aden as a female name
- Ranked #7,944 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aden leans strongly male. 19,265 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 753 female bearers (3.8%).
Popularity
Aden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aden from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 9,980 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aden 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 Aden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Aden, while Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 386 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aden
The name Aden has its origins in the Semitic languages of the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word 'adan', which means 'paradise' or 'Eden'. The name is closely associated with the city of Aden, a major port city in Yemen on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
Aden is mentioned in several ancient texts and religious scriptures. In the Quran, Aden is referred to as the 'Garden of Eden' or 'Jannatul Adan'. The city of Aden is also mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible as a location visited by the Queen of Sheba during her journey to meet King Solomon.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aden can be found in the writings of the Arab historian and geographer Al-Hamdani, who lived in the 10th century AD. He referred to the city of Aden as a flourishing trade center and a gateway to the Indian Ocean.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Aden. One of the earliest was Aden bin Abi Anuayr Al-Fazari (died 690 AD), a renowned Arab poet and warrior during the early Islamic era. Another notable figure was Aden bin Yahya Al-Sayari (died 944 AD), a prominent Islamic scholar and judge from Yemen.
In more recent times, Aden Abdulle Osman (1908-1954) was a Somali poet, writer, and politician who played a significant role in the Somali nationalist movement. Aden Aden (1939-2012) was a renowned Somali singer and songwriter, known for his contributions to the development of Somali music.
Aden Ridgeway (born 1962) is an Australian politician and former senator, known for his advocacy for indigenous rights and reconciliation. He was the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the Australian Senate.
Aden Young (born 1971) is an Australian actor, best known for his roles in films such as 'Kick' and the television series 'Rectify'. Aden Flint (born 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Sheffield Wednesday.
People
Aden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aden 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
Aden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,639 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aden 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 15,840 US residents.
Is Aden a common name?
We classify Aden as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,277 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aden most popular?
The single biggest year for Aden was 2006, when 1,431 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aden is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aden in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 20,023 people with the name Aden, or 6.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,600 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 Aden 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 Aden?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aden leans strongly male. 19,265 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 753 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Aden?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aden is White at 51.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.7%) and Black (17.1%). 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 Aden most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.0% (10,213 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 Aden in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aden a male name?
Yes, 97.1% of people registered as Aden 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 Aden still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aden 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 Aden 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 have the name Aden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.