Arlena
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Arlene.
Name Census estimates that about 1,376 living Americans carry the first name Arlena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arlena today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlena births was 1919 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlena. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Arlena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 249,095 Americans
Peak year
1919
60 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,987
Tracked since 1883
Census
Arlena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,469 people with the first name Arlena, which placed it at #9,443 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
#9,443
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arlena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlena is White at 39.1%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Hispanic (17.5%). 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 Arlena 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 Arlena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.1% · 575
- Black or African American33.3% · 489
- Hispanic or Latino17.5% · 257
- Two or more races4.1% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 32
Popularity
Arlena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 384 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlena 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 Arlena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the most babies named Arlena, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlena
The name Arlena is a variant of the name Arlene, which has its origins in the Germanic language. It is derived from the Old German name "Arlin" or "Erling," which means "earth" or "earth warrior." The name was initially popular among the Germanic tribes during the Middle Ages.
In the 12th century, the name Arlene appeared in various forms such as "Arlina" and "Arlene" in historical records from France and Germany. It was later adopted by other European cultures, including the English, who used the spelling "Arlena" more commonly.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arlena can be found in the Domesday Book, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Arlena de Warwick," referring to a landowner in the county of Warwickshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Arlena. One such person was Arlena Stuart (1470-1537), a Scottish noblewoman who was a member of the powerful Stewart family and played a role in the political intrigues of the time.
During the Renaissance period, Arlena Bianchi (1510-1589) was an Italian painter and poet from Mantua, known for her portraits and religious works. She was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition and success.
In the 18th century, Arlena Duval (1728-1804) was a French actress and dancer who performed at the Comédie-Française in Paris. She was renowned for her grace and talent on stage.
Another notable figure was Arlena Griffith (1873-1951), an American educator and activist who fought for women's rights and the advancement of education in the United States. She was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement and served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women.
In the field of literature, Arlena Young (1905-1985) was an American author and poet known for her works exploring the experiences of African Americans in the rural South. Her novel "Bright Fires" was widely acclaimed and received critical praise for its vivid portrayal of Southern life.
People
Arlena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlena 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
Arlena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,376 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlena 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 249,095 US residents.
Is Arlena a common name?
We classify Arlena as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,822 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlena most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlena was 1919, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlena is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arlena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,469 people with the name Arlena, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,443 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 Arlena 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 Arlena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arlena appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,478 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 Arlena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlena is White at 39.1%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Hispanic (17.5%). 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 Arlena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arlena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.1% (575 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 Arlena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arlena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arlena 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 Arlena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arlena 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 Arlena 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 people have the name Arlena?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Arlena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.