Glendell
From the Scottish Gaelic glen dell, meaning "dweller of the valley".
Name Census estimates that about 306 living Americans carry the first name Glendell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Glendell today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Glendell births was 1935 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Glendell. 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 Glendell is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Glendells were born before 1965.
People living today
306
~ 1 in 1,120,112 Americans
Peak year
1935
24 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1989 SSA rank
#6,863
Tracked since 1915
Gender
Gender distribution for Glendell
Glendell leans heavily male at 84.2% of total registrations, but 92 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Glendell as a male name
- Ranked #8,349 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1939 (18 births)
Glendell as a female name
- Ranked #6,863 in 1965
- 5 female births in 1965
- Peak: 1957 (9 births)
Popularity
Glendell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Glendell from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Glendell 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 Glendell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Glendells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Glendell
The name Glendell is believed to have originated from a combination of the Old English words "glende" and "dell," which together mean "a valley where the stream flows." This suggests that the name may have been derived from a specific geographic location or landmark in England during the medieval period.
In the 12th century, the name Glendell appeared in various records and chronicles, often referring to small settlements or villages located in picturesque valleys near streams or rivers. It's possible that some of these settlements were named after individuals who bore the name Glendell, either as a first name or a surname.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Glendell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This reference suggests that the name may have been in use among the Anglo-Saxon population before the Norman Conquest.
Historically, the name Glendell does not seem to have been widely used or recorded in religious texts or scriptures. However, it has been borne by a few notable individuals throughout history.
One such individual was Glendell Savage (1892-1976), an American football player and coach who played for the University of Southern California and later coached at several universities, including Stanford and UCLA.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Glendell Jones (1916-1995), an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who performed with some of the most influential musicians of the swing era, including Count Basie and Cab Calloway.
In the literary realm, Glendell Patton (1911-1997) was an American author and playwright who wrote several novels and plays, including "The Painter's Voice" and "The Seasons of Love."
The name Glendell also appeared in the field of architecture with Glendell Jones Jr. (1923-2006), an American architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and contributed to the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles.
Finally, Glendell Jones Sr. (1890-1968) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Arkansas from 1939 to 1945.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples demonstrate the diverse backgrounds and fields in which individuals named Glendell have made their mark throughout history.
People
Glendell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Glendell 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
Glendell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Glendell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 306 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Glendell 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 1,120,112 US residents.
Is Glendell a common name?
We classify Glendell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 583 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Glendell most popular?
The single biggest year for Glendell was 1935, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Glendell is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Glendell a male name?
Yes, 84.2% of people registered as Glendell 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.
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.