Earlene
A feminine name of English origin meaning "noble maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 5,595 living Americans carry the first name Earlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Earlene today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Earlene births was 1947 (407 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Earlene. 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
- • The typical person named Earlene is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Earlenes were born before 1964.
People living today
5.6K
~ 1 in 61,261 Americans
Peak year
1947
407 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1931 SSA rank
#3,924
Tracked since 1901
Gender
Gender distribution for Earlene
Out of the 14,170 babies given the name Earlene since 1880, 100.0% 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.
Earlene as a male name
- Ranked #3,924 in 1931
- 5 male births in 1931
- Peak: 1931 (5 births)
Earlene as a female name
- Ranked #18,430 in 2007
- 5 female births in 2007
- Peak: 1947 (407 births)
Popularity
Earlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Earlene from the 1900s through to the 2000s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 3,689 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Earlene 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 Earlene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Earlenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the most babies named Earlene, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 297 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Earlene
The name Earlene is a relatively modern English given name that emerged in the early 20th century. It is a combination of the English words "earl" and "lene," with "earl" meaning a British nobleman and "lene" being a variant of the name Lena or Lina, which has roots in various European languages such as Greek and Latin.
While the exact origin of the name Earlene is unclear, it is believed to have been created as a feminine form of the name Earl, possibly as a way to give a more feminine and modern touch to an older, traditionally masculine name. The name became popular in the United States during the early to mid-20th century, particularly in the Southern states.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Earlene can be found in the 1920 United States Census, where a few individuals were listed with this given name. However, it was not until the 1930s and 1940s that the name gained more widespread popularity.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Earlene. One of the most famous was Earlene Brown (1909-1975), an American singer and actress who performed on Broadway and in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. Another notable figure was Earlene Fowler (1945-2023), an American mystery writer best known for her Benni Harper series of novels.
Other notable individuals with the name Earlene include Earlene Risinger (1940-2018), an American politician who served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and Earlene Hubbard (1933-2011), an American novelist and short story writer known for her works exploring themes of race and identity.
Earlene Hawley (1924-2015) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Hollywood films and television shows during the 1940s and 1950s, while Earlene Newell (1929-2018) was a renowned American jazz singer and composer who performed with some of the most popular big bands of the mid-20th century.
While the name Earlene may have waned in popularity in recent decades, it remains a unique and distinctive given name with a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in the United States during the early to mid-20th century.
People
Earlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Earlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Earlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Earlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,595 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Earlene 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 61,261 US residents.
Is Earlene a common name?
We classify Earlene as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Earlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Earlene was 1947, when 407 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Earlene is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Earlene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Earlene 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.