Arlene
A feminine name of German origin meaning "pledge" or "promise".
Name Census estimates that about 58,314 living Americans carry the first name Arlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arlene today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlene births was 1934 (3,930 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlene. 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
- • Although Arlene is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 361 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1930s, recent registration numbers for Arlene have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
58K
~ 1 in 5,878 Americans
Peak year
1934
3,930 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1989 SSA rank
#1,798
Tracked since 1888
Gender
Gender distribution for Arlene
Out of the 143,241 babies given the name Arlene since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Arlene as a male name
- Ranked #6,261 in 1989
- 7 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1937 (23 births)
Arlene as a female name
- Ranked #1,798 in 2024
- 111 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1934 (3,917 births)
Popularity
Arlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlene from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 34,944 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlene 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 Arlene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Arlene, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,708 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlene
The name Arlene is a French feminine form of the Old German name Arlen, derived from the word "hari" meaning "army" and "lind" meaning "tender,soft". It is related to the name Charles, which shares the same Germanic root.
In medieval France, the name Arlene was initially spelled as Arlende or Arlinde. It gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the French nobility and upper classes. Some early recorded instances include Arlende de Montfort (born c. 1190), a noblewoman from the House of Montfort.
The name Arlene has been associated with various historical figures throughout the centuries. One notable example is Arlene of Faversham (c. 1345-1381), an English nun who was allegedly murdered by her lover and his accomplices, leading to a famous court case and the establishment of the legal principle of "double jeopardy".
During the Renaissance period, the name Arlene was adopted by several influential women, including Arlene de' Medici (1520-1589), a member of the powerful Medici family in Florence, Italy. She was a patron of the arts and supported numerous artists and writers during her lifetime.
In the 19th century, Arlene Dufrénoy (1835-1899) was a French novelist and playwright who wrote several successful works, including the novel "Pauvre Jeanne" and the play "Les Lionnes Pauvres".
Other notable individuals named Arlene include Arlene Francis (1907-2001), an American actress, radio and television personality, and the first woman to host a game show ("What's My Line?") on television. Arlene Dahl (1925-2021) was a renowned American actress, author, and entrepreneur, best known for her roles in films such as "Journey to Italy" and "Slightly Scarlet".
In the world of sports, Arlene Blencowe (born 1983) is an Australian professional boxer and mixed martial artist, who has competed in several major organizations, including Bellator and RIZIN Fighting Federation.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Arlene
People
Arlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlene 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
Arlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 58,314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlene 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 5,878 US residents.
Is Arlene a common name?
We classify Arlene as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 143,241 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlene was 1934, when 3,930 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlene is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Arlene a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Arlene 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.