Arlene
Arlene was given to 127 girls in 2025, #1,632 among girls’ names; 143,371 Americans have been recorded with it since 1888 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 66,400 Americans named Arlene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (46% of everyone recorded); the median is 72 years old and half are between 58 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Arlene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Arlene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Arlene is “a female given name originating as a coinage.”
A nineteenth-century coinage probably based on similar-sounding names such as Charlene and Arlette.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Arlene?
#1,632 among girls’ names, 2025
Arlene fell from #1,382 in 2015 to #1,632 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 95.8 to 79.0 per million.
3,930 babies in 1934, the peak
Arlene peaked in 1934, when 3,930 babies were given it (3,917 girls, #53 among girls’ names). The 127 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 127 | #1,632 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 112 | #1,796 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 112 | #1,806 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 119 | #1,742 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 115 | #1,769 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 134 | #1,571 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 120 | #1,728 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 114 | #1,787 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 153 | #1,466 | 0.09 |
| 2016 | 148 | #1,524 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (138)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 171 | #1,382 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 150 | #1,487 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 159 | #1,427 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 157 | #1,452 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 179 | #1,314 | 0.10 |
| 2010 | 208 | #1,166 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 194 | #1,259 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 234 | #1,104 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 225 | #1,141 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 242 | #1,056 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 307 | #830 | 0.17 |
| 2004 | 244 | #974 | 0.13 |
| 2003 | 285 | #849 | 0.16 |
| 2002 | 318 | #760 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 280 | #827 | 0.16 |
| 2000 | 286 | #798 | 0.16 |
| 1999 | 313 | #721 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 304 | #726 | 0.17 |
| 1997 | 319 | #679 | 0.18 |
| 1996 | 302 | #705 | 0.17 |
| 1995 | 297 | #704 | 0.17 |
| 1994 | 298 | #701 | 0.17 |
| 1993 | 342 | #652 | 0.19 |
| 1992 | 369 | #616 | 0.20 |
| 1991 | 332 | #659 | 0.18 |
| 1990 | 314 | #679 | 0.17 |
| 1989 | 341 | #621 | 0.18 |
| 1988 | 341 | #591 | 0.19 |
| 1987 | 364 | #551 | 0.21 |
| 1986 | 353 | #564 | 0.21 |
| 1985 | 347 | #568 | 0.20 |
| 1984 | 350 | #543 | 0.21 |
| 1983 | 369 | #516 | 0.22 |
| 1982 | 421 | #487 | 0.25 |
| 1981 | 413 | #495 | 0.25 |
| 1980 | 371 | #520 | 0.22 |
| 1979 | 325 | #564 | 0.20 |
| 1978 | 355 | #521 | 0.23 |
| 1977 | 391 | #487 | 0.26 |
| 1976 | 416 | #462 | 0.28 |
| 1975 | 408 | #461 | 0.28 |
| 1974 | 435 | #444 | 0.30 |
| 1973 | 501 | #400 | 0.34 |
| 1972 | 500 | #401 | 0.33 |
| 1971 | 605 | #380 | 0.36 |
| 1970 | 718 | #349 | 0.41 |
| 1969 | 737 | #330 | 0.44 |
| 1968 | 719 | #324 | 0.44 |
| 1967 | 773 | #310 | 0.47 |
| 1966 | 911 | #279 | 0.54 |
| 1965 | 1,054 | #266 | 0.60 |
| 1964 | 1,225 | #253 | 0.65 |
| 1963 | 1,295 | #245 | 0.67 |
| 1962 | 1,341 | #237 | 0.68 |
| 1961 | 1,554 | #216 | 0.77 |
| 1960 | 1,625 | #211 | 0.80 |
| 1959 | 1,790 | #199 | 0.88 |
| 1958 | 1,778 | #192 | 0.88 |
| 1957 | 1,693 | #203 | 0.83 |
| 1956 | 1,807 | #191 | 0.90 |
| 1955 | 1,982 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1954 | 2,075 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1953 | 2,305 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1952 | 2,330 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1951 | 2,502 | #134 | 1.4 |
| 1950 | 2,390 | #132 | 1.4 |
| 1949 | 2,395 | #133 | 1.4 |
| 1948 | 2,480 | #125 | 1.5 |
| 1947 | 2,907 | #118 | 1.6 |
| 1946 | 2,801 | #113 | 1.8 |
| 1945 | 2,771 | #99 | 2.1 |
| 1944 | 2,714 | #101 | 2.0 |
| 1943 | 3,146 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1942 | 3,331 | #83 | 2.5 |
| 1941 | 3,291 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1940 | 3,257 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1939 | 3,578 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 1938 | 3,894 | #63 | 3.5 |
| 1937 | 3,805 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1936 | 3,898 | #54 | 3.7 |
| 1935 | 3,684 | #59 | 3.5 |
| 1934 | 3,917 | #53 | 3.8 |
| 1933 | 3,185 | #74 | 3.2 |
| 1932 | 3,109 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 1931 | 3,217 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1930 | 2,509 | #103 | 2.2 |
| 1929 | 2,398 | #105 | 2.1 |
| 1928 | 2,521 | #106 | 2.2 |
| 1927 | 2,563 | #108 | 2.1 |
| 1926 | 2,522 | #108 | 2.1 |
| 1925 | 2,275 | #120 | 1.9 |
| 1924 | 2,277 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1923 | 2,090 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 1922 | 1,884 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1921 | 1,837 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1920 | 1,594 | #145 | 1.3 |
| 1919 | 1,427 | #156 | 1.3 |
| 1918 | 1,340 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1917 | 1,208 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1916 | 1,105 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 1915 | 864 | #193 | 0.88 |
| 1914 | 608 | #209 | 0.80 |
| 1913 | 471 | #218 | 0.75 |
| 1912 | 325 | #246 | 0.58 |
| 1911 | 226 | #257 | 0.54 |
| 1910 | 207 | #268 | 0.52 |
| 1909 | 160 | #282 | 0.46 |
| 1908 | 143 | #296 | 0.43 |
| 1907 | 101 | #351 | 0.32 |
| 1906 | 107 | #325 | 0.36 |
| 1905 | 77 | #386 | 0.26 |
| 1904 | 59 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1903 | 67 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 47 | #459 | 0.18 |
| 1901 | 38 | #488 | 0.16 |
| 1900 | 47 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1899 | 33 | #514 | 0.14 |
| 1898 | 30 | #588 | 0.12 |
| 1897 | 28 | #569 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 33 | #516 | 0.14 |
| 1895 | 23 | #639 | 0.10 |
| 1894 | 19 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 17 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 19 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 13 | #754 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 11 | #830 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,292 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 9 | #900 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Arlene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Arlene has been given almost only to girls: 361 boys in 138 years of records.
Girls and boys named Arlene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Arlene, and how old are they?
66,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 46% of the 143,371 Americans ever recorded as Arlene. The median Arlene alive today is 72 years old; half are between 58 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 85,381 people named Arlene (85,251 women and girls, 130 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 80,912 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 17,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 29,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 8,480 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,410 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,050 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,720 |
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 Arlene born?
The states with the most babies named Arlene are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 21,739 | #1,425 | 1.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 13,781 | #934 | 1.4× |
| California | 12,506 | #1,242 | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 9,881 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 7,195 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 6,750 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Wisconsin | 5,698 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 5,625 | #1,290 | 0.8× |
| Minnesota | 4,659 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Massachusetts | 4,643 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Arlene is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Arlene is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 girls’ 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 Arlene 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 179,166 babies since 1880, Arlene is the most given (80% of them). In 2025 it was given to 127 of their 168 babies (76%), 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 Arlene
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 Arlene and names like it
- Compare Arlene and ArlineBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sArlene peaked in 1934.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Arlene since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Arlene: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1934The year the most babies were named Arlene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Arlene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.