Arenda
A variant spelling of the German name Arend meaning "eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Arenda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arenda today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arenda births was 1957 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arenda. 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 Arenda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1957
6 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,305
Tracked since 1947
Census
Arenda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Arenda, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arenda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arenda is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Arenda 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 Arenda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 67
- Black or African American31.1% · 37
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Popularity
Arenda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arenda from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 15 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
Arenda 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 Arenda 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 Arenda
The given name Arenda is believed to have originated from the Old Frisian language, spoken by the Frisian people of the coastal regions of the Netherlands and Germany. It is likely derived from the Old Frisian word "ārende," which means "messenger" or "envoy."
The earliest recorded use of the name Arenda dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various medieval documents from the Frisian region. It was a relatively uncommon name during that time period but held a certain level of prestige due to its association with the concept of being a messenger or bearer of important information.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Arenda was Arenda van Galen, a 13th-century Frisian noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of her region. She was born around 1220 and is mentioned in several historical records as a skilled negotiator and envoy between rival factions.
In the 15th century, Arenda Bockelsz was a Dutch merchant and trader who established trade routes between the Netherlands and the Baltic regions. He was born in 1432 and is remembered for his contributions to the economic prosperity of his hometown of Groningen.
The name Arenda also has a connection to religious history. In the 16th century, Arenda van Haemstede was a Dutch Protestant reformer who advocated for religious tolerance and freedom of worship. She was born in 1520 and actively participated in the Reformation movement in the Netherlands.
During the 17th century, Arenda van Goor was a renowned Dutch painter known for her intricate still-life compositions. She was born in 1623 and her works can be found in various art museums across Europe.
Another notable figure with the name Arenda was Arenda Johanna van Loon, a 19th-century Dutch singer and composer. She was born in 1825 and gained recognition for her contributions to the development of Dutch classical music.
While the name Arenda has its roots in the Frisian culture and language, it has been adopted and used in various parts of Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and surrounding regions. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name compared to other traditional names from the same linguistic and cultural origins.
People
Arenda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arenda 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
Arenda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arenda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arenda 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Arenda a common name?
We classify Arenda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arenda most popular?
The single biggest year for Arenda was 1957, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arenda is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arenda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Arenda, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Arenda 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 Arenda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arenda leans strongly female. 116 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 4 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Arenda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arenda is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Arenda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arenda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (67 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 Arenda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arenda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arenda 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 Arenda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arenda 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 Arenda 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 Arenda?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Arenda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.