Meaning:
Its source is aduenna silva, a Latin name meaning "Great forest."
Popularity:
The name Arden ranked 1080th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.
Narrative:
This was the surname of Shakespeare's mother, and also the name of the forest (near his native town of Stratford, England) that served as the setting for his comedy As You Like It.