Arlecia
A feminine name of modern coinage, potentially derived from the French "arlequin".
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Arlecia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arlecia today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlecia births was 1964 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlecia. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arlecia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1964
8 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1992 SSA rank
#13,465
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Arlecia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlecia from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Arlecia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlecia 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 Arlecia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlecia
The name Arlecia is of uncertain origin, with no clear consensus among scholars and linguists on its roots and earliest usage. Some theories suggest it may have evolved from the Old French name Arlette, which itself derived from the Germanic name Arluinda, meaning "completely gentle." Others propose it could be a variation of the Italian name Arlecchina, linked to the iconic Commedia dell'Arte character Harlequin.
One of the earliest known references to the name Arlecia can be found in a 14th-century French manuscript, where it appears as the name of a minor noblewoman. However, the name's usage remained relatively obscure until the 16th century when it gained some popularity among the French aristocracy.
Notable historical figures named Arlecia include Arlecia de Montfort (1295-1363), a French noblewoman and heiress to the County of Montfort-l'Amaury. Another was Arlecia de Valois (1376-1422), a Countess of Hainaut and a member of the French royal family.
In the 17th century, Arlecia Bonfiglio (1605-1682) was an Italian painter and poet from Perugia, known for her religious artwork and sonnets. Around the same time, Arlecia von Anhalt-Dessau (1630-1680) was a German princess and Regent of the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau.
Moving into the 18th century, Arlecia Duvernay (1725-1798) was a French painter and engraver, renowned for her portraits and landscape paintings. She was a member of the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris.
While the name Arlecia has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, these examples showcase its sporadic usage across various European cultures and social circles, primarily among the nobility and artistic circles.
People
Arlecia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlecia 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
Arlecia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlecia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlecia 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Arlecia a common name?
We classify Arlecia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 53 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlecia most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlecia was 1964, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlecia is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Arlecia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arlecia 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.
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.