Arnold

“Eagle power” — Germanic via French origin

Boy's name · #1477 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Arnold is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1916, when it ranked #89. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 104,000 boys since 1880, ranked #1477 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Arnie is a short form of Arnold.

Around the world: about 1 in 3,900 boys in Norway (2025) · about 1 in 4,600 boys in England & Wales (2025) · about 1 in 6,200 boys in Sweden (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 10 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Arnolds

Arnold Schwarzenegger — Austrian and American actor, bodybuilder, and politician (born 1947)
Arnold Schoenberg — Austrian-Jewish American composer (1874-1951)
Arnold J. Toynbee — British historian (1889–1975)
Arnold Sommerfeld — German physicist (1868-1951)
Arnold Rüütel — Estonian politician, former President of Estonia (1928–2024)

In stories & tradition

Arnold (Ventriloquist) — Detective Comics
Arnold Rimmer — Red Dwarf
Arnold Jackson — fictional human

What Arnolds become

Among 2,838 notable people named Arnold:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.83× more often than among typical names — e.g. Arnold Jackson, Athletics competitor, army officer, and lawyer (1891-1972).

Similar names: Chester · Harold · Virgil · Gerald · Bernard · Clifford

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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