Walden
About Walden
Walden is a recent entrant to the en-ending boys' names trend, a name that summons up placid images of Thoreau's two-year stay contemplating nature near Walden Pond.
A quite different image came into being when Walden was chosen as the name for Ashton Kutcher's character in "Two and a Half Men"--internet billionaire Walden Schmidt. It is also a Harry Potter name, via wizard Walden Macnair.
Pronounced WAWL-dun.
As of October 2026, Walden ranked #3233 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1502 in 1915.
Editor's take: The name Walden is a boy's name of German origin meaning "valley of the Welsh".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #3,780 | 28 | 14.6 |
| 2015 | #3,018 | 39 | 20.3 |
| 2016 | #2,987 | 40 | 21.1 |
| 2017 | #2,711 | 46 | 24.9 |
| 2018 | #2,442 | 54 | 29.7 |
| 2019 | #2,731 | 47 | 26.2 |
| 2020 | #2,802 | 44 | 25.5 |
| 2021 | #3,646 | 31 | 17.7 |
| 2022 | #3,330 | 36 | 20.6 |
| 2023 | #2,475 | 55 | 32.2 |
| 2024 | #3,202 | 38 | 22.1 |
| 2025 | #3,233 | 37 | 21.7 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Walden.
- Ames
- Fraser
- Laurie
- Ferris
- Clancy
- Artie
- Fitz
- Alcott
- Abbott
- Whitaker
- Augie
- Wendell
- Whit
- Whittaker
- Abner
- Finney
- Morris
- Merritt
- Lowell
- Alby
Walden on lists
Famous Waldens
- Walden Robert Cassotto
birth name of American singer Bobby Darin
- Walden L. Ainsworth
United States Navy admiral
- Walden Bello
Filipino author, academic and political analyst
- Walden Erickson
American professional football player
- Walden Martin
American Olympic road racing cyclist
- Walden O'Dell
American financial executive
- Walden Alexis Vargas
Colombian football player
Walden in pop culture
- Walden Schmidt
character on TV's "Two and a Half Men"
- Walden Belfiore
character on TV's The Sopranos
- Walden
character on animated TV series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
- Walden Pond
area in Massachusetts that inspired Henry David Thoreau's "Walden"