Recorded 1916–1946 Boys' name Peak 1926 54 births

Arl — boys' name

54 babies named Arl in U.S. Social Security records since 1916, with the highest year being 1926. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s131920s301930s61940s5

The verdict

54 boys have been named Arl since 1916, peaking in the 1920s, last recorded in 1946.

54
total births
1916–1946
years on record
1920s
peak decade
56%
born in that decade
1920s
Peak decade

56% of everyone ever named Arl was born in this single decade.

1926
Single peak year

8 babies were named Arl in 1926 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Arl

The Social Security Administration has registered 54 babies named Arl between 1916 and 1946, spanning 31 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Arl currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1946. The name reached its historical peak in 1926, when 8 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Arl performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 30 births during that ten-year window. Across the 4 decades of recorded activity, Arl shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Arl in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 54 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Arl at a glance

Last recorded 1946

Total births

54

Since 1916

31 years of records

Peak year

1926

8 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1946

Active since

1916

Recorded for 31 years

Last year on file: 1946

Arl popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1946–1916

Last recorded 1946
Peak year (1926)
8
Annual births at peak — across 31 years of records
456789 194619321926192519241923192119181916 7

Arl by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
30 births that decade — 56% of Arl's all-time total
1910s131920s301930s61940s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Arl?
54 babies have been named Arl since 1916. It was last recorded in 1946. The peak year was 1926 with 8 births.
When was Arl most popular?
Arl was most popular in the 1920s decade with 30 total births. The single peak year was 1926.
How long has the name Arl been used?
Arl has been recorded in Social Security data since 1916, spanning 31 years of data through 1946.
What names are similar to Arl?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Arlo, Arlen, Arlie, Arlin, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1916–1946 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.