Arlana
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from a Germanic root.
Name Census estimates that about 464 living Americans carry the first name Arlana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arlana today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlana births was 1949 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
464
~ 1 in 738,695 Americans
Peak year
1949
17 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,048
Tracked since 1946
Census
Arlana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 469 people with the first name Arlana, which placed it at #21,580 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,580
National first-name rank
People counted
469
469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arlana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlana is White at 46.3%. The next largest groups are Black (33.7%) and Hispanic (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Arlana described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Arlana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.3% · 217
- Black or African American33.7% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 32
- Two or more races5.5% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 13
Popularity
Arlana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlana from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Arlana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlanas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlana
The given name Arlana is believed to have originated from the Old French language, where it was derived from the Germanic root word "arlo" or "erlo," meaning "warrior" or "noble." This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions such as France and parts of present-day Germany and Switzerland.
Arlana is thought to have been a feminine variant of the masculine name Arlan, which was commonly used during the medieval period. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, where it appeared in various historical documents and records.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Arlana was Arlana de Montfort, a French noblewoman who lived during the 13th century. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, a prominent leader during the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
Another individual of historical significance was Arlana von Habsburg, a member of the prestigious House of Habsburg, who lived in the 15th century. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in various cultural and religious initiatives during her lifetime.
In the realm of literature, the name Arlana was featured in several medieval romantic tales and bardic poems, often associated with characters portraying traits of bravery, nobility, and virtue.
One notable literary reference can be found in the epic poem "Le Roman de la Rose," written in the 13th century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, where a character named Arlana is depicted as a virtuous and courageous heroine.
During the Renaissance period, the name Arlana was also associated with several notable artists and intellectuals. For instance, Arlana Veneziano was an Italian painter and sculptor active in the 16th century, known for her contributions to the Venetian Renaissance art movement.
Additionally, Arlana Fiammetta was an Italian humanist scholar and poet who lived in the 14th century, renowned for her works that explored themes of love, philosophy, and the human condition.
Throughout history, the name Arlana has maintained a sense of nobility, strength, and cultural significance, reflecting its roots in the Old French language and its association with notable figures from various historical periods.
People
Arlana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Arlana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 738,695 US residents.
Is Arlana a common name?
We classify Arlana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlana most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlana was 1949, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlana is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arlana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 469 people with the name Arlana, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,580 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Arlana in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Arlana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arlana appears almost entirely female. Of the 469 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Arlana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlana is White at 46.3%. The next largest groups are Black (33.7%) and Hispanic (6.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Arlana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arlana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.3% (217 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Arlana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arlana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arlana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Arlana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arlana in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Arlana can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Arlana?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Arlana at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.