Allen

Where Allen comes from

The dictionaries list Allen as a given name — a male given name from the Celtic languages, a variant of Alan; in modern use often transferred from the surname — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • Celtic
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #82 among boys — 184 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1926
    Allen Ginsberg born
    American poet and writer
  3. 1950
    Peak, #71
    4,840 babies named Allen — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1972
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #123.
  5. 1975
    Allen Iverson born
    American basketball player
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Celtic languages, a variant of Alan; in modern use often transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • 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), 1893–1969
  • Allen Newell · American cognitive scientist, 1927–1992
  • Allen Johnson · American hurdler, born 1971

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.