Aragorn
Aragorn is a name of Sindarin origin meaning "revered king".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Aragorn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aragorn today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aragorn births was 2004 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aragorn. 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 Aragorn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Aragorn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
2004
14 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2023 SSA rank
#6,241
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Aragorn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aragorn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aragorn 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 Aragorn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aragorn
The name Aragorn is a fictional name created by J.R.R. Tolkien for the character of Aragorn II Elessar, the protagonist in his famous novel The Lord of the Rings. The name is derived from the Sindarin Elvish language that Tolkien constructed for his legendarium. Aragorn is composed of the elements aran, meaning "king," and gorn, meaning "vigorous."
In Tolkien's mythology, Aragorn was the heir to the throne of Gondor and a direct descendant of the ancient line of Númenórean kings. The name reflects his destiny as the rightful ruler of Gondor and his role as a powerful warrior and leader in the struggle against Sauron. Tolkien drew inspiration from various linguistic and literary sources, including Old English, Old Norse, and Finnish, to create the intricate languages and names in his works.
While Aragorn is not a name found in historical records or ancient texts, it has gained widespread recognition and popularity due to the immense cultural impact of Tolkien's writings. The character of Aragorn, as portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the acclaimed film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, has become an iconic figure in modern fantasy literature and cinema.
Notably, several individuals have adopted the name Aragorn in tribute to Tolkien's creation. One example is Aragorn Eloff, a South African writer and academic born in 1994. Another is Aragorn Tolkien, a musician and great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, born in 1995. While these individuals are not historical figures, their choice of the name Aragorn reflects the enduring influence of Tolkien's works and the cultural significance of the character.
It is worth mentioning that while the name Aragorn itself is a fictional creation, it has inspired countless fans and readers around the world, contributing to the enduring legacy of Tolkien's literary masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.
People
Aragorn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aragorn 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
Aragorn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aragorn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aragorn 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 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Aragorn a common name?
We classify Aragorn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aragorn most popular?
The single biggest year for Aragorn was 2004, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aragorn is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Aragorn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aragorn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aragorn 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 Aragorn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aragorn 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 Aragorn 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Aragorn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.