Herlene
A feminine name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Herlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Herlene today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Herlene births was 1921 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Herlene. 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 Herlene is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Herlenes were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Herlene. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1921
8 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1957 SSA rank
#5,663
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Herlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Herlene from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 14 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Herlene 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 Herlene 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 Herlene
The given name Herlene is a relatively uncommon name of uncertain origin. It appears to be a modern invention, potentially derived from a combination of the German words "her" meaning "noble" and "lene" meaning "soft" or "tender." However, there is no definitive historical record of its linguistic roots or cultural heritage.
While the name Herlene itself does not seem to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it may be loosely inspired by similar-sounding names found in various cultures and time periods. For instance, the Old English name Herleva, meaning "warrior maiden," shares some similarities in sound and structure.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Herlene are relatively recent, dating back to the late 19th or early 20th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Herlene Pratt, an American artist born in 1924 and known for her abstract expressionist paintings.
Throughout history, there have been a handful of notable individuals who bore the name Herlene. One such person was Herlene Gordon, an American politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Wyoming from 1973 to 1975. Another was Herlene Ricketts, an Australian singer and actress active in the mid-20th century, known for her performances in musical theater productions.
Herlene Brock was an American educator and civil rights activist who played a significant role in desegregating schools in Louisiana during the 1960s. She was born in 1920 and passed away in 2020 at the age of 100.
Herlene Budlovsky was a Polish-American basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics as part of the United States women's national basketball team. She was born in 1954 and helped the team win a silver medal in Montreal.
While the name Herlene is relatively uncommon, it has been borne by a diverse range of individuals throughout the past century, spanning fields such as art, politics, entertainment, education, and sports. Despite its uncertain origins, the name has left its mark on various aspects of history and culture.
People
Herlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Herlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Herlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Herlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Herlene 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Herlene a common name?
We classify Herlene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Herlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Herlene was 1921, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Herlene is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Herlene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Herlene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Herlene 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 Herlene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Herlene 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 Herlene 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Herlene as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Herlene, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.