Gladden
Derived from an Old English term meaning "to gladden or make joyful".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Gladden. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gladden today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gladden births was 1922 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gladden. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gladden. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1922
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1929 SSA rank
#4,206
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Gladden: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Gladden 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 Gladden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Gladden
The name Gladden is an English given name derived from the Old English word "glæd," meaning "bright" or "shining." It was originally a surname that later became used as a first name, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gladden can be traced back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various medieval records and documents as a surname. One of the earliest known individuals with the name was Gladden de Bromley, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1227.
In the 16th century, the name Gladden gained popularity among Puritans and Protestants, who often chose names with religious or virtuous meanings. The name was seen as a reflection of the joy and gladness associated with their faith.
One notable figure in history with the name Gladden was John Gladden, an English Puritan clergyman who lived from 1572 to 1651. He was a prominent figure in the religious debates of his time and authored several influential works on theology.
Another individual with the name Gladden was Adoniram Judson Gladden, an American Congregationalist minister and author who lived from 1836 to 1915. He was a prominent figure in the Social Gospel movement and wrote extensively on social and ethical issues.
In the 19th century, the name Gladden also gained popularity in the United States. One notable American with the name was Gladden Bishop, a politician and lawyer from Connecticut who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1863.
Another prominent figure with the name Gladden was Washington Gladden, an American Congregationalist clergyman and author who lived from 1836 to 1918. He was a leading voice in the Social Gospel movement and served as the pastor of several influential churches in Massachusetts and Ohio.
While the name Gladden has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a significant part of English naming traditions, carrying connotations of joy, brightness, and religious faith from its historical roots.
People
Gladden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gladden as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gladden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gladden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gladden 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 - US residents.
Is Gladden a common name?
We classify Gladden as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gladden most popular?
The single biggest year for Gladden was 1922, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gladden is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Gladden in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gladden a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gladden 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 Gladden still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gladden 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 Gladden 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Gladden?
See how many people have the name Gladden on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.