Arlene
Girl nameArlene has been given to 143,371 babies in the U.S. since 1888. It peaked in 1934.
Meaning & origin
A nineteenth-century coinage probably based on similar-sounding names such as Charlene and Arlette.
Origin: coinages
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
143,371
Peak year
1934 (3,930 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1888
10-year trend
▼ -26%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Arlene
Arlene Dahl
American actress (1925–2021)
Arlene Foster
British politician (born 1970)
Arlene Francis
American actress and television host (1907–2001)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Arlene.
135,300 babies since 1880
130,932 babies since 1904
163,977 babies since 1880
118,251 babies since 1890
178,066 babies since 1880
107,049 babies since 1883
84,145 babies since 1880
210,845 babies since 1882
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