Gleen
An English name meaning "valley" or "glen".
Name Census estimates that about 317 living Americans carry the first name Gleen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gleen today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gleen births was 1963 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gleen. 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 Gleen is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gleens were born before 1967.
People living today
317
~ 1 in 1,081,244 Americans
Peak year
1963
21 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,347
Tracked since 1912
Census
Gleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 230 people with the first name Gleen, which placed it at #35,134 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
#35,134
National first-name rank
People counted
230
230 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gleen is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.0%) and Hispanic (17.8%). 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 Gleen 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 Gleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.8% · 103
- Black or African American27.0% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino17.8% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.7% · 20
- Two or more races1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Gleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gleen from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 135 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gleen 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 Gleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gleens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Gleen, while Texas, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gleen
The name Gleen is believed to have originated from the Old English word "glæne," which means "bright" or "shining." It first gained popularity in medieval England during the 11th and 12th centuries, particularly among the Anglo-Saxon population. The name is thought to have been derived from the Proto-Germanic root "*glan-," which is related to the modern English words "glance" and "glimmer."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gleen can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England commissioned by King William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Gleen of Wessex. This suggests that the name was already in use among the English nobility during the Norman conquest.
In the 13th century, the name appears in several religious texts and chronicles, including the writings of the Benedictine monk Gleen of Malmesbury, who lived from 1095 to 1143. He was renowned for his scholarly works, particularly his historical account of the kings of England, titled "Gesta Regum Anglorum."
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Gleen Fitzalan (1451-1523), a prominent English nobleman and military leader who fought in the Wars of the Roses. He was renowned for his bravery and loyalty to the House of Lancaster.
Another notable figure bearing the name Gleen was the English poet and playwright Gleen Jonson (1572-1637), who was considered one of the leading literary figures of the Jacobean era. His works, such as "Volpone" and "The Alchemist," were highly influential and contributed to the development of English literature.
In the 18th century, the name Gleen was associated with Gleen Miller (1717-1805), a prominent American patriot and politician who played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was instrumental in drafting the Articles of Confederation.
Moving into the 19th century, Gleen Elgin (1811-1863) was a British diplomat and archaeologist who led excavations in Athens and retrieved several ancient Greek sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles, which are housed in the British Museum.
As the name Gleen has a long and rich history, spanning several centuries and cultures, it has been borne by numerous individuals who have left their mark on various fields, including literature, politics, and exploration.
People
Gleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gleen 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
Gleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 317 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gleen 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 1,081,244 US residents.
Is Gleen a common name?
We classify Gleen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Gleen was 1963, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gleen is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 230 people with the name Gleen, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,134 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 Gleen 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 Gleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gleen leans strongly male. 215 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 19 female bearers (8.1%). 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 Gleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gleen is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (27.0%) and Hispanic (17.8%). 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 Gleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.8% (103 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 Gleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gleen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gleen 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 Gleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gleen 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 Gleen 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 Gleen as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Gleen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.