Erleen
A feminine name of unclear origin, potentially derived from Old English elements.
Name Census estimates that about 83 living Americans carry the first name Erleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Erleen today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Erleen births was 1924 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Erleen. 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 Erleen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
83
~ 1 in 4,129,570 Americans
Peak year
1924
13 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,424
Tracked since 1915
Census
Erleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 235 people with the first name Erleen, which placed it at #34,648 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
#34,648
National first-name rank
People counted
235
235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Erleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erleen is White at 43.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.6%) and Black (17.4%). 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 Erleen 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 Erleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.4% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.6% · 53
- Black or African American17.4% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 22
- Two or more races5.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 5
Popularity
Erleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Erleen from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 85 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
Erleen 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 Erleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Erleens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Erleen
The name Erleen is believed to have originated in the Germanic languages, potentially derived from the Old High German word "erlen," meaning "alder tree." This association with nature and plant life suggests the name may have been bestowed upon children with a connection to the natural world or as a symbol of resilience and growth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Erleen can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in ancient German manuscripts. During this time, the name's spelling varied slightly, with variations such as "Erlina" and "Erleina" being used interchangeably.
In the Middle Ages, the name Erleen gained popularity among the noble classes of Germanic regions, particularly in areas like Bavaria and Saxony. Historical records from this period indicate that several noblewomen bore the name, although their specific identities have been lost to time.
One notable bearer of the name Erleen was a 12th-century abbess who presided over a prominent convent in the region now known as Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Her devotion to her faith and her leadership of the convent's community left a lasting impact on the religious landscape of the region.
In the 16th century, the name Erleen found its way into literature, appearing in the works of German poet and playwright Hans Sachs. Sachs' allegorical plays often featured characters with symbolic names, and it is believed that he used the name Erleen to represent virtues such as purity and innocence.
Another historical figure of note was Erleen von Büren, a 17th-century German artist renowned for her exquisite floral paintings. Born in 1623 in the city of Nuremberg, von Büren's works were celebrated for their attention to detail and vibrant depictions of nature's beauty.
In the 19th century, the name Erleen crossed the Atlantic and found a foothold in North America. One notable bearer was Erleen Childers, a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights. Born in 1845 in Ohio, Childers dedicated her life to promoting equal access to education for women and played a pivotal role in the establishment of several pioneering educational institutions.
While the name Erleen has retained a certain degree of rarity throughout history, its enduring presence across cultures and centuries serves as a testament to its timeless appeal and the enduring fascination with the natural world it evokes.
People
Erleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Erleen 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
Erleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Erleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Erleen 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 4,129,570 US residents.
Is Erleen a common name?
We classify Erleen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Erleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Erleen was 1924, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Erleen is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Erleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 235 people with the name Erleen, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,648 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 Erleen 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 Erleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Erleen appears almost entirely female. Of the 233 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 Erleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Erleen is White at 43.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.6%) and Black (17.4%). 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 Erleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Erleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.4% (102 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 Erleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Erleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Erleen 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 Erleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Erleen 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 Erleen 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 are called Erleen?
You can see how many Americans are named Erleen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.