Waren
A name of uncertain Germanic origin, potentially meaning "defender" or "watchman".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Waren. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Waren today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waren births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waren. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Waren. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1982 SSA rank
#7,341
Tracked since 1919
Census
Waren in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 247 people with the first name Waren, which placed it at #33,475 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
#33,475
National first-name rank
People counted
247
247 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waren
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waren is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%). 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 Waren 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 Waren at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 139
- Black or African American21.5% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.5% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 18
- Two or more races3.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Waren: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waren from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 5 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
Waren 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 Waren 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 Waren
The name Waren appears to have its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the proto-Germanic word "warjanan," which means "to defend" or "to protect." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been associated with those who were guardians or protectors of their communities.
While the exact origin and meaning of the name are not entirely clear, it is believed to have emerged in the early medieval period, particularly in the regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands. Some linguists have also proposed a possible link to the Old Norse word "vörn," which also carries the meaning of "defense" or "protection."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Waren can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Saxon region of Germany, dating back to the 10th century. This text mentions a nobleman named Waren von Halberstadt, who lived in the late 900s and held significant influence in the region.
In the 12th century, a notable figure bearing the name Waren was Waren von Leiningen, a German nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade under the leadership of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles as a valiant warrior and loyal companion to the emperor.
Another historical figure associated with the name Waren was Waren van Gent, a Flemish painter who lived in the early 15th century. His works, which include religious paintings and portraits, can be found in various churches and museums across Belgium and the Netherlands.
In the 16th century, Waren Brandt was a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and contributed to the translation of the Bible into German.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Waren Hastings was a British military officer and administrator who served as the Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. He is credited with laying the foundations of the British Empire in India and played a pivotal role in the expansion of British control over the subcontinent.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Waren, highlighting its diverse cultural and geographical roots, as well as its association with various professions and achievements.
People
Waren + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waren 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
Waren: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waren?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waren 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Waren a common name?
We classify Waren as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waren most popular?
The single biggest year for Waren was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waren is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Waren in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 247 people with the name Waren, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,475 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 Waren 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 Waren?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Waren leans strongly male. 229 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 7 female bearers (3.0%). 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 Waren?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waren is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%). 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 Waren most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Waren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (139 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 Waren in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waren a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waren 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 Waren still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waren 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 Waren 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 Waren?
See how many people share the name Waren on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.