boy's name
Allen
AL-un
- Origin Breton
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 276,421
the United States
#579
2025 births
Allen is a boy's name whose meaning is genuinely unknown — rock, handsome and deer have all been proposed from an unidentified Breton source. It is the American spelling of Alan, and it ranks 579th in the United States.
- Allen is a name of Breton origin.
- Peaked in 1951, when 5,203 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,539 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Allen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,998 |
| 1890s | 2,013 |
| 1900s | 2,590 |
| 1910s | 11,670 |
| 1920s | 20,347 |
| 1930s | 24,567 |
| 1940s | 39,266 |
| 1950s | 47,528 |
| 1960s | 37,918 |
| 1970s | 21,819 |
| 1980s | 22,094 |
| 1990s | 17,045 |
| 2000s | 12,624 |
| 2010s | 8,864 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,319 |
What Allen means
Allen has no established meaning. Rock, handsome and little deer are the proposals most often given, and all three are guesses at a Breton or Celtic word that has never been identified.
Where Allen comes from
Allen is one of several English spellings of Alan, a name Breton settlers carried into Normandy and then into England with the Conquest. Its derivation is genuinely unresolved: proposals include a Celtic word for a rock, one for handsome, and one for a deer, and none is established. Alan Rufus, a Breton who fought at Hastings, took vast Yorkshire estates and was reputedly among the wealthiest men in English history by share of national income. The double-l spelling became the American standard while Alan stayed British, so the two forms now divide by country rather than by family.
Allen in use
Allen peaked in the United States in 1951, when 5,203 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 579th in the United States on 507 births, 3463rd in England and Wales and 5808th in France, across 276,421 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. The French Alain, written up separately, holds 511,025 births and charts in only two markets, so the English forms have spread further than the French one.
How popular is Allen?
In 2025, Allen was given to 507 babies in the United States, ranking #579 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Allen is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Allen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Allen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Allen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Allen
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Allen in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Allen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Allen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Allen
What does the name Allen mean?
It is not known. Rock, handsome and deer are all proposed from an unidentified Breton source.
Is it Allen, Alan or Allan?
All spell the same name. Allen is the American standard, Alan the British one.
Is Allen an Irish name?
No — it is Breton, brought into England by Breton settlers with the Norman Conquest.
How popular is Allen?
579th in the United States, down from a 1951 peak of 5,203 births.
Is Allen a girl's or a boy's name?
Allen is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Allen?
Allen has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Allen?
Allen is usually shortened to Al.
Is Allen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Allen currently ranks #579 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.