Arla
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, potentially from Old Norse origins.
Name Census estimates that about 1,175 living Americans carry the first name Arla. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Arla today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arla births was 1930 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arla. 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 Arla with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 291,706 Americans
Peak year
1930
66 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1930 SSA rank
#3,612
Tracked since 1888
Census
Arla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,041 people with the first name Arla, which placed it at #7,473 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
#7,473
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,041 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arla is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Arla 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 Arla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 1,586
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 185
- Black or African American5.5% · 112
- Two or more races4.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Arla
Out of the 2,780 babies given the name Arla since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Arla as a male name
- Ranked #3,612 in 1930
- 6 male births in 1930
- Peak: 1916 (6 births)
Arla as a female name
- Ranked #5,155 in 2024
- 25 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1934 (64 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arla leans strongly female. 2,017 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 22 male bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Arla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arla from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 553 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arla 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 Arla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan recorded the most babies named Arla, while Utah, Texas, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arla
The given name Arla has its roots in the Old Norse language, originating from the Viking Age in Scandinavia, approximately between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "ǫrly," which translates to "early or early rising." The name may have been bestowed upon individuals born at dawn or during the early hours of the day.
Variations of the name can be found in ancient Norse sagas and manuscripts, such as the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These texts provide insights into the cultural significance and usage of the name during that era.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Arla was a Viking woman mentioned in the Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. She was described as a skilled warrior and strategist, renowned for her bravery and leadership during the Viking raids in the British Isles.
In the 14th century, an Icelandic woman named Arla Jonsdottir gained recognition for her expertise in traditional Icelandic folk medicine and herbal remedies. She was revered as a healer and is credited with preserving and passing down valuable knowledge about the medicinal properties of plants native to Iceland.
During the Renaissance period, Arla Björnsdotter, born in 1568 in Sweden, was a notable figure in the Swedish literary scene. She was a poet and writer who contributed to the development of Swedish literature and is celebrated for her lyrical works and satirical writings.
In the 19th century, Arla Rydberg, born in 1845 in Sweden, was a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights. She founded several schools for girls and played a pivotal role in promoting education and empowerment for women in Sweden.
Another notable figure was Arla Klinten, born in 1881 in Denmark, who was a pioneering artist and sculptor. She was part of the Danish avant-garde movement and is renowned for her innovative and unconventional sculptural works, which challenged traditional artistic norms of her time.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Arla throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods, particularly in Scandinavian regions.
People
Arla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arla 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
Arla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arla 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 291,706 US residents.
Is Arla a common name?
We classify Arla as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,780 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arla most popular?
The single biggest year for Arla was 1930, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arla is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,041 people with the name Arla, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,473 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 Arla 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 Arla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arla leans strongly female. 2,017 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 22 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Arla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arla is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Arla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (1,586 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 Arla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arla a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Arla 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 Arla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arla 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 Arla 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 are named Arla?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.