Arneda
A feminine name deriving from French meaning "to bear strength well".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Arneda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arneda today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arneda births was 1924 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arneda. 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
- • The typical person named Arneda is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arnedas were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arneda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1924
12 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1957 SSA rank
#5,409
Tracked since 1918
Census
Arneda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 99 people with the first name Arneda, which placed it at #53,419 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
#53,419
National first-name rank
People counted
99
99 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arneda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arneda is Black at 57.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Arneda 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 Arneda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.6% · 57
- White32.3% · 32
- Two or more races5.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Popularity
Arneda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arneda from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Arneda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arneda 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 Arneda 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 Arneda
The name Arneda is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. It is thought to be derived from the combination of two Old Norse words: "arn," meaning eagle, and "heidr," which signifies honor or dignity.
This linguistic origin suggests that the name Arneda was likely first used among the Norse peoples of present-day Scandinavia, particularly in regions such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Its earliest recorded use can be traced back to the 9th century, as evidenced by some runic inscriptions and ancient manuscripts from the period.
While the name Arneda does not appear to have any direct references in major religious texts or ancient scriptures, it may have been associated with the revered status of eagles in Norse mythology. These majestic birds were often seen as symbols of strength, courage, and divine wisdom, traits that may have been symbolically linked to the name's meaning.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Arneda was a Norse chieftain who lived in the late 9th century. Unfortunately, records of his life and deeds are scarce, but his existence serves as an early example of the name's use.
In the 11th century, a renowned Viking warrior and explorer named Arneda Haraldsson embarked on several expeditions to the coast of North America, predating the voyages of Christopher Columbus by several centuries. His exploits were documented in the Icelandic sagas, which have become valuable sources of information about Norse history and culture.
During the 12th century, a Norwegian noblewoman named Arneda Sigurdsdottir played a significant role in the political affairs of her time. She was known for her diplomatic skills and her efforts to maintain peace among the various clans and kingdoms of the region.
In the 15th century, a Swedish scholar and philosopher named Arneda Olafsson made notable contributions to the field of natural sciences. His writings on astronomy and physics were considered groundbreaking for their time and influenced generations of scholars who followed.
Lastly, in the 17th century, a Danish painter named Arneda Jacobsen gained recognition for her exquisite portraits and landscapes. Her works were widely celebrated throughout the courts of Europe and can still be found in many prestigious art collections today.
People
Arneda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arneda 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
Arneda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arneda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arneda 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Arneda a common name?
We classify Arneda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arneda most popular?
The single biggest year for Arneda was 1924, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arneda is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arneda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 99 people with the name Arneda, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,419 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 Arneda 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 Arneda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arneda appears almost entirely female. Of the 96 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Arneda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arneda is Black at 57.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Arneda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Arneda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.6% (57 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 Arneda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arneda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arneda 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 Arneda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arneda 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 Arneda 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 common is the name Arneda?
See how many people have the name Arneda on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.