Archibald
Archibald is a masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "bold, brave".
Name Census estimates that about 1,811 living Americans carry the first name Archibald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Archibald today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Archibald births was 2024 (176 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Archibald. 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 Archibald with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 189,262 Americans
Peak year
2024
176 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,174
Tracked since 1880
Census
Archibald in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,434 people with the first name Archibald, which placed it at #9,614 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
#9,614
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,434 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Archibald
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Archibald is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Archibald 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 Archibald at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 971
- Black or African American16.2% · 233
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 67
- Two or more races4.2% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Popularity
Archibald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Archibald from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 668 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
Archibald 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 Archibald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Archibalds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Archibald, while Arizona, Georgia, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Archibald
The name Archibald originated from the Germanic language and is composed of the elements "aru" meaning "eagle" and "bald" meaning "bold" or "brave." It first appeared in the 8th century and was initially spelled as "Arebald" or "Arcembaldus."
In the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity across Europe, particularly in Scotland and England. It was often associated with nobility and strength, reflecting the courageous nature of an eagle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Archibald can be found in the "Annals of Ulster," an ancient Irish chronicle from the 15th century, which mentions an individual named "Arcibaldus" in the year 1014.
The name Archibald also has connections to religious figures. St. Archibald, a Scottish bishop who lived in the 7th century, was known for his piety and devotion to the Church.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Archibald:
1. Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas (c. 1372-1424), a Scottish nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
2. Archibald Bower (1686-1766), a Scottish historian and writer, known for his work "The History of the Popes."
3. Archibald Constable (1774-1827), a Scottish publisher and bookseller who contributed to the literary culture of Edinburgh in the early 19th century.
4. Archibald Lampman (1861-1899), a Canadian poet and educator, considered one of the finest poets of the late 19th century in Canada.
5. Archibald Vivian Hill (1886-1977), an English physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate, recognized for his groundbreaking research on muscle contraction and heat production.
While the name Archibald has seen a decline in popularity in recent years, it remains a well-recognized name with a rich historical significance, reflecting bravery, nobility, and a connection to Scottish and English heritage.
People
Archibald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Archibald 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
Archibald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Archibald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,811 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Archibald 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 189,262 US residents.
Is Archibald a common name?
We classify Archibald 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, 3,800 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Archibald most popular?
The single biggest year for Archibald was 2024, when 176 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Archibald is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Archibald in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,434 people with the name Archibald, or 0.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,614 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 Archibald 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 Archibald?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Archibald appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,437 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Archibald?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Archibald is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Archibald most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Archibald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (971 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 Archibald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Archibald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Archibald 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 Archibald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Archibald 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 Archibald 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 Archibald?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.