Glen

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Glenn in GR Greece, KR South Korea, KP North Korea and 1 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Glen is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name101K records spelled Glen23 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina, Brazil, Vatican City, Panama

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Gleno, Gleń, Glêno, Gléno, Glëñ

• a separate name24K records spelled Glen2 spellings in the group

  Also written Gleń

• English given name2.1K records spelled Glen37 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Thailand, Canada, Philippines

  Languages: English, Thai, Lao

  Also written Kaelyn, Glenn, เกลน, Kaelin, เกล็น

• Russian surname1.7K records spelled Glen10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye, India

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Глен, Gleñ, Glehn, Glun, Gleń

• Polish given name1.2K records spelled Glen27 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Glenn, Гленн, Глен, Ґленн, Gleń

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Glen is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from the lands of Glen in Traquair (Peebles); first attested Colban del Glen 1328 Black

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, from Glen (Leics); first attested Gregory Glen 1230 Cur (Suffolk)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Cornish; from the valley or glen; boy/girl

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• From the Gaelic word gleann ‘valley’, in some cases perhaps representing a transferred use of the surname derived from this word. In recent years it has been used far beyond Scotland as a given IOI name. There has been some confusion with the Welsh name Glyn, which has the same meaning. Variant: Glenn.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, so named from an Old English word glean ‘glen’, ‘valley’ (from Celtic glinn).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• John Glenb. 1932GBEnglish film director and editor
• Glen Campbellb. 1936USAmerican musician (1936–2017)
• Captain Beefheartb. 1941USnot in their usual nameAmerican musician and painter (1941-2010)
• Dee Dee Ramoneb. 1951USnot in their usual nameAmerican bassist (1951–2002)
• Georgie Glenb. 1956GBBritish actress
• Glen Matlockb. 1956GBBritish bassist
• Iain Glenb. 1961GBScottish actor
• Glen Morganb. 1961USAmerican television producer, writer, and director (born 1961)
• Glen Mossb. 1983NZNew Zealand footballer
• Glen Powellb. 1988USAmerican actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,148 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Glen?

We estimate roughly 158 thousand people bear Glen (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Glen have the most bearers?

We estimate about 145 thousand people bear Glen in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled glen.

How common is Glen compared with other names?

In North Korea, Glen is the 193rd most common given name of 2,373 given names recorded there.

What does the name Glen mean?

Recorded meaning: (i) person who lives in a glen or from various Scottish places; (ii) person from Glen, Leicestershire, ‘valley’