Warren
Warren was the 240th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,471 babies. Its best year was 1921, when it ranked 24th with 7,798 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 160 places. More babies were named Warren in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning game park; or from Varenne, Normandy · Norman French, English
Say it WOR-un /ˈwɔrən/
- Rank in 2025
- #240 boys, up 103 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,471boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19217,798 babies
- Total since 1880
- 185,502babies recorded
What does the name Warren mean?
Warren is an English surname with two explanations. Wiktionary derives it from the Norman family de Warenne, named after Varenne in Normandy, a place named for its river, from a Gaulish word for water. Harrison (1918) instead treats it as a name for someone who lived at or kept a warren, a game preserve, from Old French warenne. Both routes go through Norman French. It has been used as a first name since the 19th century.
Warenne (Norman French, “family name from Varenne, Normandy”)warenne (Old French, “game preserve, warren”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Two surname origins (a Norman place name and the word warren) are given by different sources.
Related names: Waring.
See also: French names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Warren', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2 (1918), s.v. 'WARREN', Morland Press (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Warren popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 984 since 1902, 22 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #240 | 1,471 |
| 2020 | #343 | 936 |
| 2010 | #484 | 538 |
| 2000 | #438 | 545 |
| 1990 | #340 | 728 |
| 1980 | #268 | 812 |
| 1970 | #182 | 1,507 |
| 1960 | #165 | 2,017 |
| 1950 | #118 | 2,467 |
| 1940 | #110 | 1,813 |
| 1930 | #96 | 2,011 |
| 1920 | #39 | 5,492 |
| 1910 | #122 | 264 |
| 1900 | #122 | 191 |
| 1890 | #106 | 157 |
| 1880 | #89 | 158 |
How popular is Warren, counting every spelling?
Warren has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #256 for boys in 2025, against #240 on the official list, because Kayson/Kaison/Kaysen and Eric/Erick/Erik and Zayn/Zayne/Zain move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Warren?
1,471 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Warren (0.41 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Warren born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Warren.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Warren?
About 84,800 people born in the US named Warren are alive today, with a median age of 58; half are between 31 and 71. That makes Warren a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Warren by state
How common Warren was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Vermont (6.6×), Maine (2.8×), Montana (2.8×), Iowa (2.7×), South Dakota (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, Hawaii, Delaware.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Warren: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Warren, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Warren · Sibling names for Warren
Questions about the name Warren
What does Warren mean?
Warren is usually explained as “game park; or from Varenne, Normandy”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Warren?
Warren was the 240th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,471 babies. Its best year was 1921, when it ranked 24th with 7,798 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 160 places. More babies were named Warren in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Warren a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Warren in the US.
Where is Warren most popular?
In 2021–2025, Warren was most common in Vermont (4.46 per 1,000 boys), followed by Maine and Montana.