Armin
Meaning
traditionally 'army man' or 'soldier', from the Germanic name Arminius
The story
Armin is a name with two passports and an asterisk on each. The German line runs to Arminius, the Cherusci chieftain who learned soldiering inside Rome's own army, then turned and destroyed an invading force of more than 20,000 in the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9; even here the references hedge, since Arminius was likely a name Rome itself had granted him. The Persian line, the less documented branch, points to the Shahnameh, where an Armin is a son of the legendary king Kay Kawad. The name's loudest modern bearer is Dutch: Armin van Buuren, ranked the world's number one DJ five times, with a weekly radio show reaching tens of millions. The American record is quietly bimodal, 345 boys in the 1920s, then a second rise to 575 in the 2010s. Two origins, both uncertain, one name that keeps finding new audiences.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Armin peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
309 people · the #18,657 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 63
Among people named Armin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Armin
Most people given the name Armin in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Armin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Armin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Armin fits with your family’s names and surname.
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