Anon
Anonymous or unknown in terms of identity or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Anon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anon today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anon births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anon. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Anon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,403
Tracked since 2011
Census
Anon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,568 people with the first name Anon, which placed it at #6,279 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
#6,279
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,568 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anon is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.4%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Anon 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 Anon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.3% · 1,291
- Hispanic or Latino21.4% · 550
- Black or African American12.5% · 320
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.3% · 317
- Two or more races2.6% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 22
Popularity
Anon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Anon 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 Anon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Anon
The given name "Anon" has a rich and intriguing history that spans multiple cultures and civilizations. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Greek language, where the word "anōnymos" meant "without a name" or "nameless." This word was formed by combining the prefix "an-" (meaning "without" or "lacking") and the root word "onyma" (meaning "name").
In the context of ancient Greek literature, "Anon" was often used as a placeholder or pseudonym for an unknown or unidentified author. It was a common practice in those times for writers to publish their works anonymously, either to protect their identity or to maintain a sense of humility and detachment from their creations.
The earliest recorded instances of the name "Anon" can be found in various ancient Greek texts, including philosophical treatises, plays, and epic poems. One notable example is the epic poem "The Iliad," attributed to the legendary poet Homer, where the name "Anon" is used to refer to an unnamed soldier or character.
Throughout history, the name "Anon" has been used by several notable individuals who chose to remain anonymous for various reasons. One such person was the 12th-century English monk who authored the famous Ancrene Wisse, a guide for anchoresses (religious recluses) written in the West Midlands dialect of Middle English.
In the 16th century, the name "Anon" gained prominence with the publication of the anonymous English play "Everyman," a morality play that explored the concept of death and the journey of the soul. The author of this influential work remains unknown to this day, but the name "Anon" has become synonymous with the play itself.
Another famous individual who used the name "Anon" was the 17th-century English writer and satirist Joseph Addison. In his influential periodical "The Spectator," Addison frequently published essays and articles under the pseudonym "Anon," contributing to the popularity of this name as a literary device.
The 18th century saw the rise of the English poet and playwright Robert Dodsley, who published a collection of poems titled "The Muse in Livery" under the name "Anon" in 1732. This work helped establish "Anon" as a recognized literary persona and further solidified its place in the realm of anonymous authorship.
In the 19th century, the name "Anon" was also used by the English writer and social critic Thomas Love Peacock, who published several satirical works under this pseudonym. His novel "Headlong Hall," published in 1815, is considered one of the earliest examples of English satire and was initially attributed to "Anon."
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have embraced the name "Anon" as a means of preserving their anonymity or creating a distinct literary persona. While the name itself may not have been given to individuals at birth, its rich cultural and literary significance has cemented its place in the annals of history.
People
Anon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anon 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
Anon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anon 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Anon a common name?
We classify Anon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anon most popular?
The single biggest year for Anon was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anon is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,568 people with the name Anon, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,279 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 Anon 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 Anon?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Anon on both sides of the split. Of the 2,567 people counted with this name, 1,471 were male (57.3%) and 1,096 were female (42.7%). 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 Anon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anon is White at 50.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.4%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Anon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Anon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.3% (1,291 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 Anon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anon 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 Anon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anon 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 Anon 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 called Anon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.