Arjen
A masculine Dutch name of unknown origin, possibly related to "free" or "eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 387 living Americans carry the first name Arjen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arjen today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arjen births was 2015 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arjen. 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.
People living today
387
~ 1 in 885,670 Americans
Peak year
2015
42 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,471
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Arjen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arjen from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 277 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arjen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arjen 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 Arjen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arjens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Arjen, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arjen
The name Arjen is derived from the Dutch language and has its origins in the Netherlands. It is a variant of the Old Dutch name Arend, which means "eagle" or "noble bird." The name can be traced back to the 8th century in the Germanic languages.
Arjen was a popular name among the Dutch nobility and the upper classes during the Middle Ages. It was often given to boys born into wealthy or influential families, as the name symbolized strength, courage, and nobility, qualities that were highly valued at the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arjen can be found in the medieval Dutch chronicle "Rijmkroniek van Holland," written in the 13th century. The chronicle mentions an Arjen van Leiden, a nobleman from the city of Leiden who played a role in the region's political affairs.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Arjen. One of the most famous was Arjen Robben, a Dutch professional footballer born in 1984. He played for top clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, and was a key member of the Netherlands national team.
Another prominent figure was Arjen Lubach, a Dutch comedian, satirist, and television presenter born in 1979. He is known for his satirical news program "Zondag met Lubach," which addresses various social and political issues in a humorous and thought-provoking manner.
In the literary world, Arjen Lucassen is a Dutch musician and songwriter born in 1960. He is the founder of the progressive rock project Ayreon and has gained a cult following for his conceptual albums and storytelling through music.
The name Arjen also has historical ties to the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great cultural and economic prosperity in the 17th century. Arjen van der Meer, a Dutch mathematician born in 1598, made significant contributions to the field of geometry and was a contemporary of the famous philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
Another notable figure from this era was Arjen Huygen van Buchel, a Dutch jurist and diplomat born in 1585. He served as a representative of the Dutch Republic in various European courts and played a crucial role in the negotiations that led to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, ending the Thirty Years' War.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Arjen
People
Arjen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arjen 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
Arjen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arjen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arjen 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 885,670 US residents.
Is Arjen a common name?
We classify Arjen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arjen most popular?
The single biggest year for Arjen was 2015, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arjen is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Arjen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arjen 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.
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.