Allen

Meaning: Uncertain; possibly noble
Origin: Old Breton — Variant of Alan

Boy's name · #578 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Popularity over time

Allen holds its lane: charted since 1880 and rarely far from where it stands today (#578 in 2025). About 272,000 boys have carried it along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Allen is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 35 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Allen ranks in other countries and regions.

#794 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,083 in Canada (2025) · #1,382 in Italy (2024) · #2,144 in Sweden (2025) · #3,256 in England & Wales (2025) · #3,336 in France (2025) · #1,867 in Austria (2020) · #278 in Puerto Rico (2018) · #742 in Poland (2015) · #543 in Slovakia (2013) · #720 in Ireland (2010) · #383 in New Zealand (2006) and 2 more.

Famous Allens

Allen Ginsberg — American poet and writer (1926–1997)
Allen Iverson — American basketball player (born 1975)
Allen W. Dulles — First civilian and longest-serving Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) (1893–1969)
Allen Newell — American cognitive scientist (1927–1992)
Allen Johnson — American hurdler (born 1971)

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 483,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Woody Allen — American filmmaker and actor (born 1935)
Paul Allen — American businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of Microsoft (1953–2018)
Lily Allen — English singer-songwriter and actress (born 1985)

In stories & tradition

Allen Walker — Fictional character from D.Gray-man
Allen Francis Doyle — Fictional character in the TV series Angel
Allen Snider^ja — Street Fighter (video game series)

What Allens become

Among 1,221 notable people named Allen:

No single standout — notable Allens spread across many fields.

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variants Alan (#191) and Allan (#1013), Allen would rank around #137 with about 2,600 births last year — the newborns split about 73/19/8 across Alan, Allen, and Allan.

Similar names: Allan · Lawrence · Alec · Tommy · Alvin · Glenn

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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