Arlen
Arlen is given to both girls and boys: 22 girls and 107 boys were given it in 2025 (#5,575 among girls’ names and #1,587 among boys’, #2,974 among all names counting both); 8,154 Americans have been recorded with it since 1909 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,950 Americans named Arlen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (61% of everyone recorded); the median is 41 years old and half are between 15 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Arlen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Arlen?
#1,587 among boys’ names, 2025
Arlen rose from #2,254 in 2015 to #1,587 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 30.8 to 62.6 per million.
215 babies in 1934, the peak
Arlen peaked in 1934, when 215 babies were given it (206 boys, #380 among boys’ names). The 129 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 60% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 107 | #1,587 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 99 | #1,686 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 101 | #1,683 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 80 | #1,938 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 88 | #1,790 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 66 | #2,114 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 68 | #2,109 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 55 | #2,387 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 66 | #2,091 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 60 | #2,232 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (114)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 59 | #2,254 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 53 | #2,404 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 42 | #2,764 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 42 | #2,814 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 41 | #2,855 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 27 | #3,816 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 34 | #3,276 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 26 | #3,929 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 31 | #3,449 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 43 | #2,699 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 47 | #2,429 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 32 | #3,077 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 27 | #3,362 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 32 | #2,883 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 23 | #3,616 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 23 | #3,540 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 28 | #2,941 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 32 | #2,598 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 38 | #2,230 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 36 | #2,251 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 41 | #2,022 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 30 | #2,506 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 31 | #2,398 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 34 | #2,212 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 27 | #2,542 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 30 | #2,311 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 39 | #1,890 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 38 | #1,785 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 38 | #1,733 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 36 | #1,724 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 51 | #1,355 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 30 | #1,841 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 32 | #1,747 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 34 | #1,702 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 39 | #1,547 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 35 | #1,658 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 26 | #1,994 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 30 | #1,761 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 34 | #1,608 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 30 | #1,711 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 31 | #1,630 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 38 | #1,388 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 23 | #1,876 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 37 | #1,391 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 50 | #1,157 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,193 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 43 | #1,199 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 41 | #1,183 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 52 | #1,003 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 56 | #970 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 51 | #1,031 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 72 | #895 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 60 | #970 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 69 | #911 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 79 | #858 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 79 | #851 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 114 | #717 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 102 | #733 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 102 | #743 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 110 | #705 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 148 | #608 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 158 | #587 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 123 | #641 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 128 | #621 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 129 | #619 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 106 | #673 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 100 | #682 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 89 | #707 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 86 | #741 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 114 | #604 | 0.07 |
| 1945 | 79 | #676 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 83 | #679 | 0.06 |
| 1943 | 80 | #721 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 92 | #673 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 121 | #536 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 113 | #555 | 0.10 |
| 1939 | 136 | #493 | 0.12 |
| 1938 | 152 | #470 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 145 | #463 | 0.14 |
| 1936 | 190 | #399 | 0.18 |
| 1935 | 181 | #407 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 206 | #380 | 0.20 |
| 1933 | 180 | #400 | 0.18 |
| 1932 | 178 | #418 | 0.17 |
| 1931 | 143 | #473 | 0.14 |
| 1930 | 137 | #509 | 0.12 |
| 1929 | 96 | #621 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 68 | #786 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 35 | #1,227 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 35 | #1,220 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 24 | #1,535 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 33 | #1,264 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 34 | #1,236 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 24 | #1,548 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 18 | #1,907 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 22 | #1,645 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 25 | #1,452 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 16 | #2,003 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 18 | #1,756 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 12 | #2,268 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,072 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 14 | #1,692 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,201 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 5 | #1,460 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Arlen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 8,154 Americans recorded as Arlen, 10% are girls and 90% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Arlen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Arlen, and how old are they?
4,950 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 61% of the 8,154 Americans ever recorded as Arlen. The median Arlen alive today is 41 years old; half are between 15 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 5,836 people named Arlen (1,231 women and girls, 4,605 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,929 born in the U.S. The Census count is 18% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 429 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 575 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 650 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 819 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,180 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Arlen born?
The states with the most babies named Arlen are California, Minnesota and Texas, with 43% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Minnesota is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 632 | #1,366 | 0.9× |
| Minnesota | 447 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Texas | 319 | #2,307 | 0.5× |
| Iowa | 214 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Wisconsin | 199 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Dakota | 163 | not ranked | 4.1× |
| Ohio | 142 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 132 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Kansas | 108 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 106 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Arlen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Arlen is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 4.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Arlen with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 17,944 babies since 1880, Arlen is the most given (45% of them). In 2025 it was given to 129 of their 254 babies (51%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Arlen
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1900-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Arlan | 3,434 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Arlen and names like it
- Compare Arlen and ArlinBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sArlen peaked in 1934.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Arlen since 1910.
- The top names of 1934The year the most babies were named Arlen.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Arlen alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.