Given name & surname
Arend
“Exalted”·“mountain of strength”
Arend is a variant of Aaron. “Exalted” and “mountain of strength” are familiar interpretations, but no single meaning is secure. The mountain explanation is a folk etymology; it should not be treated as a proven translation.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Arend is a variant of Aaron. “Exalted” and “mountain of strength” are familiar interpretations, but no single meaning is secure. The mountain explanation is a folk etymology; it should not be treated as a proven translation.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Arend is a variant of Aaron. Aaron is familiar from Hebrew biblical tradition, but its original language may have been Egyptian. Aaron’s place in a Hebrew narrative does not by itself establish a Hebrew etymology.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Arend is a variant of Aaron. The shared background comes through Aaron: The traditional explanation links Aaron with a proposed Hebrew har-on, “mountain of strength.” That derivation is disputed, and a possible Egyptian background leaves the original formation unresolved.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Arend is a variant of Aaron. The history of Aaron gives this family its wider story. In Exodus, Aaron speaks on Moses’s behalf and becomes the first high priest of the Israelites. The naming tradition also includes the Hebrew form Aharon and the Yiddish familiar form Arke.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Arend through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 138
- 138 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1978
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2012. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 1978. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 289 as a first name in 2020; 1,742 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Arend’s family of names
Arend has a related form in Aaron. In German usage, Arend has a related form in Arnold. In West Frisian usage, Arend has a conventional equivalent in the Danish form Arne.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Arend
- Arend HeytingDutch mathematician and logician (1898-1980)
- Arend LijphartDutch political scientistborn 1936
- Arend Friedrich August WiegmannGerman zoologist (1802-1841)
- Arend SchoemakerDutch footballer (1911-1982)
- Arend DickmannDutch admiral in the Polish navy (1572-1627)
- Arend van der WelDutch footballer (1933-2013)
- Arend Friedrich WiegmannGerman botanist (1770-1853)
- Arend van 't HoftDutch bicycle racer1933–2014
- Arend SteenbergenDutch director and screenwriterborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Arend, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Adamo
“man” · “of the earth”
>99% boys
Apostolos
“an apostle; a messenger of God”
>99% boys
Eran
“one who has been awakened”
>99% boys
Adams
“man” · “of the earth”
>99% boys
Danal
“God is my judge”
>99% boys
Jerem
“one who is exalted by the Lord”
>99% boys
Grabiel
“man of God” · “a hero of God”
>99% boys
Daneal
“God is my judge” · “the champion”
81% boys · 19% girls