Arkin
A Turkish masculine name meaning "pure" or "sincere".
Name Census estimates that about 191 living Americans carry the first name Arkin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arkin today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arkin births was 2017 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arkin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Arkin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
191
~ 1 in 1,794,525 Americans
Peak year
2017
19 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,343
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Arkin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arkin 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 109 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arkin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arkin 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 Arkin 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 Arkin
The given name Arkin is believed to have originated from the Turkish language, with roots dating back to the Ottoman Empire period in the 14th to 20th centuries. It is derived from the Turkish word "ark," meaning "back" or "ridge," and likely referred to someone who lived in a mountainous or hilly region.
Arkin was a relatively common name among Turkish communities during the Ottoman era, particularly in Anatolia and parts of the Balkans. While its exact origins are unclear, it may have been used as a descriptive name for individuals born or residing in areas with prominent ridges or mountainous terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arkin can be found in the Ottoman census records from the 16th century, where it appears as a given name for several individuals living in various regions of the empire. However, there are no known references to the name in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or other historical records prior to the Ottoman period.
Throughout history, the name Arkin has been borne by several notable individuals, although their fame has been relatively localized within Turkish and Ottoman contexts. One such figure was Arkin Bey, a 17th-century Ottoman military leader who served as a commander during the Cretan War against the Venetians (1645-1669).
Another prominent bearer of the name was Arkin Pasha, an 18th-century Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the governor of various provinces within the empire. His exact birth and death dates are uncertain, but he was known to have lived during the reign of Sultan Selim III (1789-1807).
In the 19th century, Arkin Efendi was a renowned Turkish calligrapher and artist, known for his exquisite works in the Ottoman calligraphic tradition. He was born in Istanbul in 1825 and passed away in 1892, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful calligraphic pieces that are still admired today.
Moving into the 20th century, Arkin Kızıltoprak was a Turkish politician and journalist who played an active role in the early years of the Republic of Turkey. He was born in 1896 in Istanbul and served as a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from 1923 to 1946, representing the province of Kocaeli.
Lastly, Arkin Çay was a notable Turkish writer and poet who lived in the late 20th century. Born in 1947 in Ankara, he gained recognition for his poetic works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. His poetry collections, such as "Güneşin Ardından" (After the Sun), received critical acclaim and established him as a prominent figure in contemporary Turkish literature.
People
Arkin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arkin 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
Arkin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arkin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arkin 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 1,794,525 US residents.
Is Arkin a common name?
We classify Arkin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arkin most popular?
The single biggest year for Arkin was 2017, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arkin is about 11 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 Arkin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arkin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arkin 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 Arkin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arkin 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 Arkin 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 common is the name Arkin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Arkin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.