Arnis
A name of Latvian origin meaning "little eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Arnis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arnis today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arnis births was 1953 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arnis. 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 Arnis with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Arnis is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arnis' were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arnis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1953
7 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,017
Tracked since 1952
Census
Arnis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 133 people with the first name Arnis, which placed it at #48,223 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
#48,223
National first-name rank
People counted
133
133 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arnis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnis is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Arnis 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 Arnis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 5
- Black or African American3.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Popularity
Arnis: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Arnis 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 Arnis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 17 | 0 | 17 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Arnis
The name Arnis is of Latvian origin, derived from the Old Prussian word "arnis," which means "eagle." It is closely related to the Lithuanian name "Arnas" and the Old Norse name "Arnfinnr," both of which also have connections to the eagle.
Arnis was a popular name among the ancient Balts, who inhabited the regions of modern-day Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of neighboring countries. The eagle held a significant place in Baltic mythology and was revered as a symbol of strength, courage, and freedom.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Arnis can be traced back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various historical documents and chronicles from the region. One notable example is Arnis of Trikaten, a Prussian chieftain who led resistance against the Teutonic Knights in the early 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Arnis. One of the earliest was Arnis Michaelis (c. 1460-1525), a Lutheran reformer and theologian from Livonia, who played a crucial role in translating the Bible into Latvian.
In the 17th century, Arnis Freiherr von Treyden (1612-1671) was a Swedish military officer and landowner who served as the Governor of Riga during the Swedish Empire's control of the region.
Another notable figure was Arnis Ludvigs Plesums (1868-1942), a Latvian painter and art educator who played a significant role in the development of Latvian national art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 20th century, Arnis Blomgren (1917-1994) was a Swedish actor and director who appeared in numerous films and television productions, and is best known for his portrayal of the character Kasper in the long-running Swedish TV series "Farzgo."
More recently, Arnis Riekstins (born 1978) is a Latvian basketball player who has represented his country in international competitions and played professionally in various European leagues.
While the name Arnis is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the cultural heritage of Latvia and the Baltic region, carrying with it the symbolic connections to the eagle and the rich history of the ancient Balts.
People
Arnis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arnis 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
Arnis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arnis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arnis 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Arnis a common name?
We classify Arnis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arnis most popular?
The single biggest year for Arnis was 1953, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arnis is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arnis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 133 people with the name Arnis, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,223 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 Arnis 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 Arnis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arnis leans strongly male. 117 people counted with this name were male (90.7%), compared with 12 female bearers (9.3%). 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 Arnis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnis is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Arnis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arnis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (118 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 Arnis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arnis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arnis 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 Arnis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arnis 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 Arnis 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 called Arnis?
You can see how many Americans are named Arnis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.