Wallen
A variant of the given name "Walter", derived from Germanic roots meaning "ruler of the army".
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the first name Wallen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wallen today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wallen births was 2024 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wallen. 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
110
~ 1 in 3,115,949 Americans
Peak year
2024
30 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,769
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Wallen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wallen from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 106 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wallen 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 Wallen 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 Wallen
The name Wallen finds its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era around the 5th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "wealh," which means "foreigner" or "stranger." This term was often used to refer to people of Celtic or Brittonic descent, particularly those living in Wales or parts of England bordering Wales.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wallen can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this historical record, the name appears as "Walensis" or "Wallensis," referring to individuals of Welsh origin or descent.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wallen was relatively uncommon, but it continued to be used sporadically. One notable figure from this period was Walden of Mellitus, a Benedictine monk born in the late 12th century who became the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1193 to 1194.
As time progressed, the name Wallen evolved into various spellings, including Wallin, Wallynn, and Walleyn. In the 16th century, Sir William Walleys (c. 1490-1554) was a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer under King Henry VIII.
In the 17th century, the name gained popularity among Puritan families in England and later in the American colonies. One notable figure was Edward Wallen (1619-1675), an early settler in Virginia and a member of the House of Burgesses, the first legislative assembly in the American colonies.
Another significant bearer of the name was John Wallen (1771-1816), an American frontiersman and explorer who played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the United States. He was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and is credited with being one of the first non-Native Americans to cross the Continental Divide.
In the 19th century, the name Wallen continued to be used, although it remained relatively uncommon. One notable figure from this period was Charles Wallen (1819-1870), an English landscape painter known for his depictions of rural scenes and coastal landscapes.
People
Wallen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wallen 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
Wallen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wallen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wallen 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 3,115,949 US residents.
Is Wallen a common name?
We classify Wallen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wallen most popular?
The single biggest year for Wallen was 2024, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wallen is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wallen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wallen 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.