# Allen (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/allen/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæ.lən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Alan, Allan, Alen |
| US babies named this | 273,662 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 271,796 / 1,866 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 277, 1996 to 2025 |

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5 | 14,508 |
| 2000 | 8 | 10,784 |
| 2001 | 7 | 12,140 |
| 2002 | 6 | 13,684 |
| 2004 | 8 | 11,679 |
| 2005 | 5 | 16,615 |
| 2008 | 9 | 11,655 |
| 2010 | 8 | 12,340 |
| 2011 | 5 | 16,917 |
| 2012 | 5 | 17,032 |
| 2013 | 7 | 13,243 |
| 2014 | 5 | 16,659 |
| 2016 | 6 | 14,444 |
| 2019 | 7 | 12,519 |
| 2020 | 11 | 8,982 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,005 | 317 |
| 2012 | 959 | 329 |
| 2013 | 917 | 348 |
| 2014 | 860 | 367 |
| 2015 | 976 | 349 |
| 2016 | 895 | 370 |
| 2017 | 791 | 403 |
| 2018 | 741 | 421 |
| 2019 | 702 | 436 |
| 2020 | 638 | 463 |
| 2021 | 559 | 524 |
| 2022 | 529 | 561 |
| 2023 | 573 | 517 |
| 2024 | 502 | 572 |
| 2025 | 507 | 578 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10 | 2,039 |
| 2012 | 12 | 1,852 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,216 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 9 | 2,319 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,175 |
| 2017 | 9 | 2,324 |
| 2018 | 6 | 3,011 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,728 |
| 2020 | 9 | 2,228 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 7 | 2,755 |
| 2023 | 16 | 1,533 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |
| 2025 | 6 | 3,256 |

## People named Allen

- Allen Ginsberg, American poet and writer (1926–1997)
- Allen Iverson, American basketball player (born 1975)
- Allen Dulles, first civilian and longest-serving Director of Central Intelligence (DCI)
- Allen Newell, American cognitive scientist (1927–1992)
- J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer (1910–1986)
- Allen Johnson, American hurdler
- Leon Allen White, American professional wrestler (1955–2018)
- Allen Klein, American businessman, music publisher (1931–2009)
- E. Allen Emerson, American computer scientist (1954–2024)
- Allen Carr, British author (1934–2006)
- Allen Collins, American guitarist (1952–1990)
- Allen Toussaint, American musician, songwriter and record producer (1938–2015)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.