Armen
Of Armenian origin, meaning "the bearer of strength" or "valiant".
Name Census estimates that about 1,726 living Americans carry the first name Armen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Armen today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Armen births was 2007 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Armen. 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 Armen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 198,583 Americans
Peak year
2007
47 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,322
Tracked since 1914
Census
Armen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,188 people with the first name Armen, which placed it at #4,455 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
#4,455
National first-name rank
People counted
4.2K
4,188 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Armen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Armen is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Armen 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 Armen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 3,929
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 112
- Two or more races1.6% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 42
- Black or African American0.8% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Armen
Out of the 2,106 babies given the name Armen since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Armen as a male name
- Ranked #3,322 in 2024
- 35 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (47 births)
Armen as a female name
- Ranked #5,020 in 1920
- 5 female births in 1920
- Peak: 1920 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Armen leans strongly male. 4,098 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 84 female bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Armen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Armen from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 376 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Armen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Armen 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 Armen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Armens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Armen, while Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 242 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Armen
The name Armen has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Armenian word "armen," which means "Armenian." This name is closely tied to the identity and history of the Armenian people.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Armen can be found in the Armenian epic poem "The Daredevils of Sassoun," which dates back to the 8th century AD. In this epic, Armen is the name of one of the main characters, a brave and courageous warrior.
The name gained particular significance during the Christianization of Armenia in the early 4th century AD. Armen was the name of one of the Armenian pagan leaders who converted to Christianity and played a crucial role in the spread of the new religion throughout the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Armen. One of the most famous was Armen Garo (1872-1923), an influential Armenian writer, poet, and public figure who played a significant role in the Armenian national liberation movement.
Another prominent figure was Armen Alchian (1914-2013), an Armenian-American economist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He made significant contributions to the fields of industrial organization, property rights, and entrepreneurship.
In the realm of music, Armen Gilligan (1900-1984) was an Armenian-American singer and actor known for his roles in several Hollywood films during the golden age of cinema.
The name Armen also holds historical significance in the Armenian diaspora. Armen Darian (1909-1994) was a prominent Armenian-American lawyer and community leader who played a crucial role in advocating for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Armen Ohanian (1887-1976) was another notable figure in the Armenian diaspora. He was a renowned writer, journalist, and activist who dedicated his life to preserving Armenian culture and promoting the Armenian cause.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals who have borne the name Armen throughout history, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich cultural heritage of the Armenian people.
People
Armen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Armen 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
Armen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Armen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,726 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Armen 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 198,583 US residents.
Is Armen a common name?
We classify Armen as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Armen most popular?
The single biggest year for Armen was 2007, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Armen is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Armen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,188 people with the name Armen, or 1.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,455 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 Armen 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 Armen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Armen leans strongly male. 4,098 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 84 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Armen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Armen is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Armen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Armen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (3,929 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 Armen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Armen a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Armen 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 Armen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Armen 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 Armen 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 Armen as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Armen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.