Olden
Masculine
Olden is an English word as well as a name: the olden days, olden times, the long-ago of family stories. As a boy's name it has two firm syllables and rhymes with golden.
How old is the name Olden?
Olden first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Olden alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 100 people named Olden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Olden most popular?
Olden peaked in 1885, reaching #936 nationally. See the whole 1885 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Olden
Our story of Olden takes the word at its word. English keeps olden almost entirely for a few fixed phrases, the olden days above all, the time just before anyone's memory that every family tells stories about. Olden is also a village on a Norwegian fjord, at the foot of a valley that climbs to the Briksdal glacier, and a first name that a scattering of American families gave their sons long ago. It is a name that says, in plain English, that it comes from before.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No record explains Olden as a first name. It is spelled exactly like the English adjective olden, meaning belonging to times long past, and it sits one vowel from Alden, the English name built from Old English words for 'old' and 'friend'. The record does not say whether either one is its source.
Pronouncing Olden
OHL-den
Two syllables, stress on the first; it rhymes with golden and Holden.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 192322 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #936reached in 1885
- Change vs 1965
- −22.2%7 in 1982, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Oldens among us
people named Olden are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Olden sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Spelled exactly like a familiar English word, so it is read correctly on sight.
- Two syllables with a clear stress, and it rhymes with golden.
- Sits close to Alden and Holden, so it sounds like a name at once.
- It is the word old with an ending, and some people will find that funny on a baby; the joke is gentle and fades as the child grows.
- Alden and Holden are more familiar, so expect people to hear one of those and write it.
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Olden
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Oldens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Olden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Olden in 2025?
- Olden is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Olden with classmates?
- Olden will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Oliver#3 · Owen#31 · Oscar#223 · Omar#260 · Otis#652 · Orlando#871 · Otto#277 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Olden? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Olden and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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