Waldon
Of Old German origin, meaning "forest valley" or "wood valley".
Name Census estimates that about 207 living Americans carry the first name Waldon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Waldon today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waldon births was 1922 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waldon. 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 Waldon is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Waldons were born before 1966.
People living today
207
~ 1 in 1,655,818 Americans
Peak year
1922
30 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,102
Tracked since 1912
Census
Waldon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 298 people with the first name Waldon, which placed it at #29,601 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
#29,601
National first-name rank
People counted
298
298 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waldon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waldon is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Waldon 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 Waldon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 205
- Black or African American16.4% · 49
- Two or more races5.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Waldon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waldon from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Waldon 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 Waldon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waldons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Waldon
The name Waldon has its origins in the Old English language and dates back to the 9th century. It is believed to be derived from the words "weald" meaning forest or woodland, and "dun" which refers to a hill or low mountain. Together, the name can be interpreted as "one who dwells in the wooded hills."
During the medieval period, the name Waldon was primarily found in England, particularly in the regions with a significant Anglo-Saxon influence. The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, where a landowner named Waldon is mentioned.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Waldon de Meschines was a prominent baron and one of the leading noblemen during the reign of King Henry I. He played a crucial role in the Norman conquest of Wales and was granted extensive lands in Cheshire and Shropshire.
The name Waldon also has religious connections. In the 13th century, a monk named Waldon of Winchelcombe was a respected scholar and author of various theological works. His writings were widely circulated and studied in monasteries across Europe.
During the Renaissance period, Waldon Fawcett (1460-1524) was a renowned English scholar and humanist. He served as a tutor to the children of prominent families and was known for his translations of classical Greek and Latin texts.
Another notable figure with the name Waldon was Sir Waldon Hankey (1572-1631), a British explorer and adventurer who embarked on several voyages to the Americas and the West Indies. His detailed accounts of his travels were popular during his time and provided valuable insights into the new lands being explored.
In the 18th century, Waldon Hayward (1738-1809) was a prominent English playwright and novelist. His works, which often explored themes of love, betrayal, and social commentary, were widely acclaimed and continue to be studied by scholars of English literature.
Throughout history, the name Waldon has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, religious figures, explorers, and literary pioneers. While its usage may have waned in modern times, it remains a name with a rich historical legacy and a connection to the natural landscapes of the English countryside.
People
Waldon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waldon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Waldon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waldon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 207 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waldon 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 1,655,818 US residents.
Is Waldon a common name?
We classify Waldon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 693 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waldon most popular?
The single biggest year for Waldon was 1922, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waldon is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Waldon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 298 people with the name Waldon, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,601 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 Waldon 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 Waldon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Waldon appears almost entirely male. Of the 301 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Waldon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waldon is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Waldon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Waldon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (205 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 Waldon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waldon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waldon 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 Waldon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waldon 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 Waldon 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 Americans are named Waldon?
See how many Americans are named Waldon on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.