Ardon
Meaning "high valley" in Welsh.
Name Census estimates that about 45 living Americans carry the first name Ardon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ardon today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ardon births was 2021 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ardon. 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 Ardon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
45
~ 1 in 7,616,763 Americans
Peak year
2021
8 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,442
Tracked since 1920
Census
Ardon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 172 people with the first name Ardon, which placed it at #42,074 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
#42,074
National first-name rank
People counted
172
172 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ardon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ardon is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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 Ardon 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 Ardon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.5% · 111
- Black or African American16.3% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.0% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 11
- Two or more races3.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 4
Popularity
Ardon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ardon from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 24 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Ardon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ardon 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 Ardon 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 Ardon
The name Ardon is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic language, with roots tracing back to the early medieval period in Britain and parts of continental Europe. It is thought to be derived from the old Welsh word "ardd," meaning "high" or "lofty," combined with the suffix "-on," a diminutive form indicating smallness or endearment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ardon can be found in the ancient Welsh genealogies, where it appears as the name of a 5th-century prince from the Kingdom of Gwynedd in northern Wales. This Ardon ap Cyngen is mentioned in the historical records as a notable figure in the region during that era.
In the 9th century, an Ardon was recorded as the Bishop of Basle in present-day Switzerland, indicating the name's presence in the region during the Carolingian period. This ecclesiastical figure played a role in the religious and cultural life of the area at the time.
Moving forward to the 11th century, an Ardon was noted as a influential noble in the court of William the Conqueror, the Norman ruler who conquered England in 1066. This Ardon, whose full name is recorded as Ardon de Montreuil, accompanied William on his invasion and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as holding lands in several English counties.
Another notable figure with the name Ardon was a 13th-century Welsh poet and bard, known as Ardon Brenhin. His works, which celebrated the Welsh language and culture, have been preserved in various medieval manuscripts and anthologies.
In the 15th century, an Italian Renaissance scholar and humanist named Ardon Siculo gained recognition for his contributions to the study of classical literature and philosophy. Born in Sicily around 1420, he was a key figure in the intellectual circles of his time, and his writings on ancient Greek and Roman texts were widely influential.
While the name Ardon has its roots in the Celtic and medieval European traditions, it has also been used in various other cultural contexts throughout history, though with less frequency. The enduring legacy of this name lies in its connection to the rich tapestry of linguistic, cultural, and historical narratives that have shaped our understanding of the past.
People
Ardon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ardon 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
Ardon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ardon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ardon 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 7,616,763 US residents.
Is Ardon a common name?
We classify Ardon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ardon most popular?
The single biggest year for Ardon was 2021, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ardon is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ardon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 172 people with the name Ardon, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,074 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 Ardon 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 Ardon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ardon leans strongly male. 159 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 11 female bearers (6.5%). 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 Ardon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ardon is White at 64.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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 Ardon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ardon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.5% (111 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 Ardon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ardon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ardon 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 Ardon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ardon 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 Ardon 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 Ardon as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.