Arlena
Arlena was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,041 among girls’ names; 2,830 Americans have been recorded with it since 1883 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,470 Americans named Arlena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 48 years old and half are between 32 and 66.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Arlena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Arlena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Arlena is “a female given name originating as a coinage, variant of Arlene.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Arlena?
#11,041 among girls’ names, 2025
Arlena rose from #13,151 in 2015 to #11,041 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 3.9 to 5.0 per million.
60 babies in 1919, the peak
Arlena peaked in 1919, when 60 girls were given it, #910 among girls’ names. The 8 births of 2025 are 13% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,041 | 5.0 |
| 2024 | 13 | #8,014 | 8.0 |
| 2023 | 6 | #13,638 | 3.7 |
| 2022 | 9 | #10,479 | 5.5 |
| 2021 | 9 | #10,380 | 5.5 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,292 | 4.3 |
| 2019 | 11 | #9,182 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | 8 | #11,523 | 4.7 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,560 | 10.4 |
| 2016 | 8 | #11,905 | 4.5 |
Every recorded year (140)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 7 | #13,151 | 3.9 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,522 | 7.3 |
| 2013 | 6 | #14,814 | 3.4 |
| 2012 | 6 | #15,167 | 3.4 |
| 2011 | 6 | #15,034 | 3.4 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,362 | 5.1 |
| 2009 | 8 | #12,546 | 4.4 |
| 2008 | 7 | #14,006 | 3.7 |
| 2007 | 10 | #10,904 | 5.2 |
| 2006 | 9 | #11,546 | 4.7 |
| 2005 | 5 | #16,762 | 2.7 |
| 2004 | 14 | #7,866 | 7.6 |
| 2003 | 16 | #6,918 | 8.8 |
| 2002 | 16 | #6,724 | 8.9 |
| 2001 | 13 | #7,777 | 7.2 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,833 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,280 | 7.3 |
| 1998 | 15 | #6,400 | 8.5 |
| 1997 | 21 | #4,836 | 12.1 |
| 1996 | 22 | #4,591 | 12.5 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,669 | 16.5 |
| 1994 | 34 | #3,303 | 19.0 |
| 1993 | 24 | #4,264 | 13.3 |
| 1992 | 34 | #3,267 | 18.4 |
| 1991 | 31 | #3,444 | 16.5 |
| 1990 | 26 | #3,910 | 13.7 |
| 1989 | 18 | #4,865 | 9.8 |
| 1988 | 18 | #4,658 | 10.1 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,483 | 10.4 |
| 1986 | 15 | #4,979 | 8.7 |
| 1985 | 17 | #4,465 | 9.9 |
| 1984 | 20 | #3,876 | 11.9 |
| 1983 | 22 | #3,558 | 13.2 |
| 1982 | 26 | #3,261 | 15.4 |
| 1981 | 25 | #3,346 | 15.0 |
| 1980 | 23 | #3,514 | 13.9 |
| 1979 | 19 | #3,913 | 11.8 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,869 | 18.3 |
| 1977 | 25 | #3,087 | 16.3 |
| 1976 | 19 | #3,548 | 13.0 |
| 1975 | 17 | #3,783 | 11.7 |
| 1974 | 27 | #2,684 | 18.4 |
| 1973 | 18 | #3,488 | 12.3 |
| 1972 | 24 | #2,824 | 15.8 |
| 1971 | 22 | #3,067 | 13.2 |
| 1970 | 26 | #2,713 | 14.9 |
| 1969 | 29 | #2,399 | 17.2 |
| 1968 | 24 | #2,544 | 14.6 |
| 1967 | 11 | #4,061 | 6.7 |
| 1966 | 25 | #2,407 | 14.8 |
| 1965 | 24 | #2,467 | 13.6 |
| 1964 | 27 | #2,351 | 14.2 |
| 1963 | 26 | #2,370 | 13.5 |
| 1962 | 26 | #2,358 | 13.2 |
| 1961 | 22 | #2,610 | 10.9 |
| 1960 | 20 | #2,736 | 9.9 |
| 1959 | 24 | #2,344 | 11.9 |
| 1958 | 31 | #1,987 | 15.4 |
| 1957 | 16 | #2,927 | 7.8 |
| 1956 | 13 | #3,334 | 6.5 |
| 1955 | 12 | #3,388 | 6.1 |
| 1954 | 18 | #2,593 | 9.3 |
| 1953 | 20 | #2,365 | 10.6 |
| 1952 | 21 | #2,269 | 11.3 |
| 1951 | 26 | #1,922 | 14.4 |
| 1950 | 30 | #1,725 | 17.5 |
| 1949 | 17 | #2,413 | 9.9 |
| 1948 | 29 | #1,742 | 17.1 |
| 1947 | 18 | #2,356 | 10.2 |
| 1946 | 22 | #1,970 | 14.0 |
| 1945 | 22 | #1,797 | 16.8 |
| 1944 | 20 | #1,917 | 15.1 |
| 1943 | 22 | #1,836 | 15.8 |
| 1942 | 30 | #1,497 | 22.2 |
| 1941 | 24 | #1,612 | 19.9 |
| 1940 | 25 | #1,551 | 21.9 |
| 1939 | 24 | #1,550 | 21.9 |
| 1938 | 25 | #1,511 | 22.7 |
| 1937 | 25 | #1,500 | 23.5 |
| 1936 | 23 | #1,554 | 22.1 |
| 1935 | 19 | #1,783 | 18.1 |
| 1934 | 27 | #1,410 | 25.9 |
| 1933 | 35 | #1,199 | 34.7 |
| 1932 | 33 | #1,268 | 30.9 |
| 1931 | 33 | #1,258 | 31.0 |
| 1930 | 48 | #1,060 | 42.6 |
| 1929 | 33 | #1,309 | 29.6 |
| 1928 | 27 | #1,547 | 23.4 |
| 1927 | 41 | #1,215 | 34.4 |
| 1926 | 33 | #1,389 | 27.8 |
| 1925 | 54 | #1,021 | 44.4 |
| 1924 | 46 | #1,151 | 36.8 |
| 1923 | 34 | #1,352 | 28.2 |
| 1922 | 32 | #1,432 | 26.6 |
| 1921 | 39 | #1,239 | 31.6 |
| 1920 | 45 | #1,121 | 37.6 |
| 1919 | 60 | #910 | 53.1 |
| 1918 | 34 | #1,300 | 29.4 |
| 1917 | 32 | #1,282 | 29.6 |
| 1916 | 41 | #1,102 | 39.3 |
| 1915 | 26 | #1,406 | 26.4 |
| 1914 | 28 | #1,151 | 36.8 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,124 | 38.4 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,181 | 35.8 |
| 1911 | 20 | #985 | 47.8 |
| 1910 | 20 | #973 | 50.4 |
| 1909 | 10 | #1,371 | 28.8 |
| 1908 | 22 | #833 | 65.8 |
| 1907 | 14 | #1,039 | 43.9 |
| 1906 | 13 | #1,050 | 44.0 |
| 1905 | 15 | #969 | 51.4 |
| 1904 | 13 | #1,005 | 47.2 |
| 1903 | 13 | #975 | 49.6 |
| 1902 | 16 | #874 | 60.6 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,345 | 29.2 |
| 1900 | 17 | #921 | 56.7 |
| 1899 | 9 | #1,102 | 38.6 |
| 1898 | 8 | #1,266 | 30.9 |
| 1897 | 8 | #1,175 | 34.2 |
| 1896 | 8 | #1,217 | 33.6 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,437 | 25.7 |
| 1894 | 10 | #1,002 | 44.9 |
| 1893 | 6 | #1,287 | 28.2 |
| 1892 | 13 | #833 | 61.2 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,010 | 42.0 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,291 | 28.0 |
| 1887 | 5 | #1,159 | 34.3 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,117 | 34.6 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,055 | 37.6 |
| 1883 | 6 | #825 | 53.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Arlena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Arlena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 140 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Arlena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Arlena, and how old are they?
1,470 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 2,830 Americans ever recorded as Arlena. The median Arlena alive today is 48 years old; half are between 32 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 1,478 people named Arlena (1,472 women and girls, 6 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,572 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 133 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 324 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 335 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 369 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 181 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 122 |
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).
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 166,725 babies since 1880, Arlena is the third most given (1.7% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 149 babies (5.4%), again the third 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 Arlena
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
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 Arlena and names like it
- Compare Arlena and ArleneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sArlena peaked in 1919.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Arlena since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Arlena: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1919The year the most babies were named Arlena.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Arlena alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with AMost given first.