Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Arnold?
Births per year, rank history and how many Arnolds are alive today.
Arnold (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 627th in 2025 with 59 given the name. The name peaked in 1904, when around 1,000 babies were given the name, the 75th most popular that year. It has declined since 1904; the 2025 figure is roughly 6% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 34,000 babies have been named Arnold in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Arnold include Arnie.
The Arnold you are most likely to meet is around 73 years old. Half of all Arnolds born in England and Wales are between 51 and 79, and there are at least 8,700 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 2.8% chance that at least one of them will be called Arnold.
How many babies are named Arnold each year?
Where does Arnold rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Arnold most popular?
Arnold peaked in 1904, when around 1,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Arnold?
At least 8,700 people named Arnold born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Arnold?
Most living Arnolds are between 51 and 79; the most common age is about 73.
Is Arnold becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.