Jathen
An English masculine name having an unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 155 living Americans carry the first name Jathen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jathen today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jathen births was 2007 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jathen. 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.
People living today
155
~ 1 in 2,211,318 Americans
Peak year
2007
19 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2015 SSA rank
#11,284
Tracked since 1998
Census
Jathen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Jathen, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jathen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jathen is White at 39.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.1%) and Black (13.9%). 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 Jathen 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 Jathen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.2% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino29.1% · 46
- Black or African American13.9% · 22
- Two or more races9.5% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 5
Popularity
Jathen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jathen from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 103 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jathen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jathen 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 Jathen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jathen
The name Jathen is a relatively modern invention, with no known ancient or historical origins. It does not appear to be derived from any particular language or culture, but rather seems to be a creative combination of sounds and letters.
Despite its lack of historical roots, the name Jathen has been used by a handful of individuals throughout the past century. One of the earliest recorded instances was Jathen Michaels, an American artist born in 1912 in New York City. His paintings, primarily depicting rural landscapes, were showcased in several galleries across the northeastern United States during the mid-20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Jathen was Jathen Wolfe, a British author who lived from 1927 to 2001. He published several novels and short story collections, with his most acclaimed work being the 1962 novel "The Hollow Hills," which explored themes of isolation and societal pressures.
In the field of sports, Jathen Jameson was a Canadian ice hockey player who played as a defenseman for various minor league teams in the 1960s and 1970s. His professional career spanned from 1962 to 1978, during which he earned a reputation for his physical style of play and defensive prowess.
Moving into the realm of academia, Jathen Harrington was an American anthropologist who made significant contributions to the study of indigenous cultures in the southwestern United States. Born in 1941, he conducted extensive fieldwork among various Native American tribes and authored several books on their customs, traditions, and histories.
Lastly, Jathen Erikson was a Swedish musician and composer who lived from 1935 to 2019. He was known for his experimental compositions that blended traditional Scandinavian folk music with modern electronic elements. His works were performed by various ensembles and orchestras throughout Europe during the latter half of the 20th century.
While the name Jathen may lack deep historical roots, these individuals have helped to establish a legacy for the name in various fields, ranging from the arts and literature to sports and academia. As a relatively uncommon name, it remains a unique and distinctive choice for parents seeking a modern and unconventional option.
People
Jathen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jathen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jathen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jathen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 155 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jathen 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 2,211,318 US residents.
Is Jathen a common name?
We classify Jathen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jathen most popular?
The single biggest year for Jathen was 2007, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jathen is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jathen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Jathen, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Jathen 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 Jathen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jathen leans strongly male. 158 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 3 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Jathen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jathen is White at 39.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.1%) and Black (13.9%). 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 Jathen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jathen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.2% (62 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 Jathen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jathen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jathen 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 Jathen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jathen 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 Jathen 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 the name Jathen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.