Paden
A modern, unisex name of uncertain, potentially Welsh origin meaning "valley" or "meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 1,927 living Americans carry the first name Paden. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Paden today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paden births was 1992 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paden. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 177,869 Americans
Peak year
1992
79 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,376
Tracked since 1985
Gender
Gender distribution for Paden
Paden leans heavily male at 89.9% of total registrations, but 198 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Paden as a male name
- Ranked #5,376 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1987 (78 births)
Paden as a female name
- Ranked #17,149 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2002 (12 births)
Popularity
Paden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paden from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 639 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paden 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 Paden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Padens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Paden, while Washington, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Paden
The name Paden is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which was historically spoken in parts of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word "paidean," which means "little Patrick."
Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. He is the primary patron saint of Ireland and is celebrated annually on March 17th, known as St. Patrick's Day. The name Paden was likely a diminutive form of Patrick used as a given name in its own right.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Paden can be traced back to medieval Scotland and Ireland. It was particularly common in the Scottish Highlands and the northern regions of Ireland. The name was often anglicized to "Paton" or "Patton" in some areas.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Paden was Paden of Inchaffray, a Scottish monk who lived in the 12th century and served as the Prior of Inchaffray Abbey in Perthshire, Scotland. Another notable bearer of the name was Paden Fitz Walter, an Irish clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Tuam in the late 12th century.
In the 16th century, a Scottish family named Paden gained prominence in Ayrshire. Sir Walter Paden, born in 1520, was a prominent landowner and military commander who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England.
Later, in the 17th century, Paden Dougherty, born in 1647, was an Irish Presbyterian minister known for his fiery sermons and his opposition to the anti-Presbyterian policies of the Church of England in Ireland.
Another historical figure with the name Paden was Paden Fairfax, an English poet and playwright born in 1788. He was known for his satirical works and his criticism of the social and political establishment of his time.
People
Paden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paden as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,927 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paden 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 177,869 US residents.
Is Paden a common name?
We classify Paden as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,964 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paden most popular?
The single biggest year for Paden was 1992, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paden is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paden a male name?
Yes, 89.9% of people registered as Paden 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.