Ardena
A feminine name originating from Latin meaning "ardent, passionate, fiery."
Name Census estimates that about 193 living Americans carry the first name Ardena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ardena today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ardena births was 1919 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ardena. 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 Ardena is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ardenas were born before 1967.
People living today
193
~ 1 in 1,775,929 Americans
Peak year
1919
20 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1982 SSA rank
#8,286
Tracked since 1900
Census
Ardena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 295 people with the first name Ardena, which placed it at #29,826 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
#29,826
National first-name rank
People counted
295
295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ardena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ardena is White at 55.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Ardena 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 Ardena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.6% · 164
- Black or African American31.9% · 94
- Two or more races5.1% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 6
Popularity
Ardena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ardena from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 102 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ardena 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 Ardena 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 Ardena
The given name Ardena has its roots in the ancient Germanic languages and cultures of northern Europe. It is believed to have originated from an Old Germanic word meaning "hardy" or "brave," reflecting the warrior spirit and resilience of the people who bore this name in ancient times.
The earliest known references to the name Ardena can be traced back to the 5th and 6th centuries, during the Migration Period when various Germanic tribes were on the move across Europe. It was not uncommon for individuals from these tribes to bear names that embodied the virtues and values cherished by their respective cultures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ardena was a Frankish warrior who lived in the late 5th century. His exploits were mentioned in the chronicles of the time, though few details remain about his life and deeds. In the 8th century, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman named Ardena was known for her patronage of religious institutions and her philanthropic efforts.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Ardena continued to be used, albeit infrequently, among various Germanic populations across Europe. It gained some prominence in the 12th century when Ardena of Normandy, a prominent figure in the court of King Henry II of England, played a significant role in the events of the Angevin Empire.
In the 16th century, Ardena Schütz, a German composer and musician, gained recognition for her contributions to the development of Lutheran church music. Her compositions and hymns were widely performed and admired during the Protestant Reformation era.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ardena Lockridge, an American author and playwright who lived from 1895 to 1978. Her works explored themes of social justice and the experiences of African Americans in the early 20th century.
While not a common name in modern times, Ardena has left an enduring legacy, reflecting the strength, resilience, and cultural heritage of its ancient Germanic origins.
People
Ardena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ardena 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
Ardena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ardena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 193 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ardena 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 1,775,929 US residents.
Is Ardena a common name?
We classify Ardena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 550 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ardena most popular?
The single biggest year for Ardena was 1919, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ardena is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ardena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 295 people with the name Ardena, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,826 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 Ardena 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 Ardena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ardena appears almost entirely female. Of the 294 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Ardena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ardena is White at 55.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Ardena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ardena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.6% (164 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 Ardena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ardena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ardena 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 Ardena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ardena 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 Ardena 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 Ardena?
You can see how many people have the name Ardena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.