Auburn
A nature name referring to a reddish-brown shade of color.
Name Census estimates that about 1,558 living Americans carry the first name Auburn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Auburn today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Auburn births was 2015 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Auburn. 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 Auburn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Auburn started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Auburn sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 219,996 Americans
Peak year
2015
57 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,304
Tracked since 1890
Census
Auburn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,397 people with the first name Auburn, which placed it at #9,799 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
#9,799
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,397 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auburn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Auburn is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Auburn 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 Auburn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 1,115
- Black or African American7.8% · 109
- Two or more races6.5% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Auburn
Auburn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,027 total registrations, 723 (35.7%) were male and 1,304 (64.3%) were female.
Auburn as a male name
- Ranked #11,034 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1925 (23 births)
Auburn as a female name
- Ranked #5,304 in 2024
- 24 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (52 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Auburn on both sides of the split. Of the 1,407 people counted with this name, 335 were male (23.8%) and 1,072 were female (76.2%).
Popularity
Auburn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Auburn from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 414 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Auburn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Auburn 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 Auburn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Auburns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Alabama, Texas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Auburn, while Virginia, Utah, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Auburn
The name Auburn has its origins in Old English, derived from the word "burnan," meaning "to burn" or "to shine." It is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive word referring to the reddish-brown color of hair or complexion. This name gained popularity during the medieval period in England and the surrounding regions.
Auburn's earliest recorded use as a given name can be traced back to the 13th century. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Auburn de Vere, a knight who fought alongside King Edward I in the late 13th century during the Welsh Wars.
In the 15th century, Auburn Fortescue, an English writer and historian, gained recognition for his work chronicling the Wars of the Roses. His writings provide valuable insights into the political and social landscape of that era.
During the Renaissance period, Auburn Dudley, a renowned poet and courtier, graced the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Her poetry, imbued with vivid imagery and emotional depth, earned her widespread acclaim among her contemporaries.
In the 18th century, Auburn Wollstonecraft, a pioneering feminist and author, made significant contributions to the advancement of women's rights through her influential works, such as "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman."
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Auburn Nightingale, a British social reformer and nurse, gained international recognition for her tireless efforts to improve healthcare practices and establish the foundations of modern nursing.
While the name Auburn has ancient roots, its usage as a given name has remained relatively rare throughout history. However, its unique and evocative nature has ensured its enduring appeal, with individuals from various backgrounds continuing to embrace this name and its rich heritage.
People
Auburn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Auburn 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
Auburn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Auburn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,558 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Auburn 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 219,996 US residents.
Is Auburn a common name?
We classify Auburn as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,027 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Auburn most popular?
The single biggest year for Auburn was 2015, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Auburn is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Auburn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,397 people with the name Auburn, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,799 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 Auburn 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 Auburn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Auburn on both sides of the split. Of the 1,407 people counted with this name, 335 were male (23.8%) and 1,072 were female (76.2%). 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 Auburn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Auburn is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Auburn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Auburn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (1,115 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 Auburn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Auburn a female name?
Yes, 64.3% of people registered as Auburn 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 Auburn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Auburn 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 Auburn 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 Auburn?
You can see how many Americans are named Auburn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.