Name Legacy

Glen

Recorded 1880–2025 · United States

Glen was most popular in 1957, when 2,947 American babies were given the name — ranking #274 that year. In 2025 it ranked #4,314, with 74 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 127,054 people named Glen.

Most popular in1957
Rank that year#274
Births that year2,947
Total since 1880127,054
Given to99% boys
Alive today~66,000
Median age64

Glen over time

18802025
Births per year. The dot marks Glen’s peak in 1957. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

How old is the name Glen?

The Social Security Administration’s records begin in 1880, and Glen is already there in that first year — so the name is older than the record and these figures cannot date it. It has been recorded in 146 of the 146 years since.

How many people are named Glen?

The Social Security Administration has recorded 127,054 American births named Glen between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 66,076 are estimated to be alive today.

How many babies were named Glen in 2025?

74 American babies were named Glen in 2025, ranking #4,314 that year.

Is Glen getting more or less popular?

Glen is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 70 births a year, against 103 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -32% over the decade.

Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.

Is Glen a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Glen is a boy’s name — 1.1% of the 127,054 Americans given it were girls and 98.9% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

How old is someone named Glen?

Roughly 66,076 Americans named Glen are alive today — 52% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 64 years old, and half are between 54 and 72.

An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.

Origin

A variant of Glenn · Gaelic · "valley"

Names that peaked alongside Glen

Where Glen is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Glen on the interactive charts

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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org