Allene
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of "Ellen" and "Allene".
Name Census estimates that about 1,809 living Americans carry the first name Allene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Allene today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Allene births was 1926 (317 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Allene. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Allene is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Allenes were born before 1969.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 189,472 Americans
Peak year
1926
317 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1927 SSA rank
#4,218
Tracked since 1881
Census
Allene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,564 people with the first name Allene, which placed it at #6,289 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
#6,289
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,564 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Allene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allene is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Allene 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 Allene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.5% · 1,782
- Black or African American22.5% · 578
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 71
- Two or more races2.0% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 32
Gender
Gender distribution for Allene
Out of the 8,760 babies given the name Allene since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Allene as a male name
- Ranked #4,218 in 1927
- 5 male births in 1927
- Peak: 1927 (5 births)
Allene as a female name
- Ranked #15,223 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1926 (317 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Allene appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,555 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Allene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Allene from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,510 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Allene 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 Allene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Allenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Allene, while Minnesota, Louisiana, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 187 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Allene
The name Allene is a feminine given name of English origin. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ællen" or "ælynn," which mean "awl" or "holly tree." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 19th century.
In terms of historical references, the name Allene does not appear to have any significant mentions in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. However, there have been several notable individuals throughout history who bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Allene is Allene Talmey (1893-1976), an American vaudeville performer and actress. She appeared in several Broadway productions and films during the early 20th century.
Another notable individual named Allene was Allene Jeanes (1906-1995), an American biochemist and microbiologist. She is best known for her work on dextran, a bacterial polysaccharide, and her contributions to the development of blood plasma substitutes during World War II.
In the field of literature, Allene Corliss (1886-1968) was an American writer and journalist. She wrote several novels and short stories, including the book "The Eternal Maverick" (1927), which was based on the life of her father, a newspaper editor.
Allene Trent (1909-2001) was an American actress and dancer. She appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films throughout the mid-20th century, including the 1939 film "Gone with the Wind," where she had an uncredited role as a dancer.
Lastly, Allene Portlock (1919-2002) was an American tennis player. She was a six-time Grand Slam champion, winning the Australian Championships (now known as the Australian Open) in 1939 and the French Championships (now known as the French Open) in 1948.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Allene throughout history, showcasing the diverse backgrounds and achievements associated with this given name.
People
Allene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Allene 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
Allene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Allene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,809 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Allene 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 189,472 US residents.
Is Allene a common name?
We classify Allene as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,760 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Allene most popular?
The single biggest year for Allene was 1926, when 317 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Allene is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Allene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,564 people with the name Allene, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,289 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 Allene 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 Allene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Allene appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,555 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Allene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allene is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Allene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Allene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (1,782 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 Allene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Allene a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Allene in the SSA data are female. 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 Allene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Allene 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 Allene 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 Allene?
Want to know how many Americans are named Allene? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.