Arinn
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "kernel" or "grain".
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Arinn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arinn today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arinn births was 1979 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arinn. 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 Arinn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1979
8 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2000 SSA rank
#15,271
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Arinn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arinn from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Arinn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arinn 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 Arinn 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 Arinn
The name Arinn is a relatively modern name with roots in the Celtic languages. It is believed to have originated as a variant spelling of the Irish name Aran or Aron, which itself is derived from the Gaelic word "arann" meaning "bread" or "sustenance."
In ancient Irish mythology, Arann was the name of a legendary king and warrior who was renowned for his generosity and protection of his people. This association with sustenance and nourishment may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity over the centuries.
While the name Arinn does not appear to have been widely used in historical records or ancient texts, it is possible that it was a regional variation or nickname used in certain parts of Ireland or Scotland during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arinn can be found in the 17th century, when an Irish poet and playwright named Arinn Mac Lochlainn (1570-1635) gained recognition for his works written in the Irish language.
Another notable figure with the name Arinn was Arinn MacGregor (1787-1852), a Scottish Highlander who served as a soldier in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected clan chieftain.
In the 19th century, Arinn Finnegan (1835-1901) was an Irish-American labor activist and union organizer who played a significant role in the early labor movement in the United States.
Arinn O'Reilly (1892-1967) was an Irish-born politician and civil rights advocate who served as a member of the British Parliament and campaigned for Irish independence and workers' rights.
More recently, Arinn Connolly (1938-2014) was a renowned Irish artist and sculptor whose works are featured in several galleries and public spaces across Ireland and the United Kingdom.
While not as common as some other Celtic or Irish names, Arinn has maintained a modest yet enduring presence throughout history, often associated with artistic, literary, and political figures with ties to Ireland, Scotland, and the Irish diaspora.
People
Arinn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arinn 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
Arinn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arinn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arinn 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 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Arinn a common name?
We classify Arinn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arinn most popular?
The single biggest year for Arinn was 1979, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arinn is about 35 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 Arinn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arinn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arinn 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 Arinn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arinn 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 Arinn 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 people are called Arinn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.