Girls' name · since 1925
Marlena
11,321 babies named Marlena in U.S. Social Security records since 1925, with the highest year being 1978. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,541 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,968 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,321
- born since 1925
- 1980s
- peak decade
Marlena currently ranks #2968 among girls' names in America, with 11,321 babies recorded since 1925.
Social Security Administration records show Marlena recorded 11,321 times among girls since 1925, holding rank #2968 nationally today, ahead of 83% of girls, peaking in the 1980s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1925 to 2025.
- #1,541 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,968 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 11,321 born since 1925
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Marlena ranks #1,541 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,968 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 11,321 born since 1925, peaking in the 1980s.
- #1,541 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,968 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,321
- born since 1925
- 1980s
- peak decade
Marlena's 11,321 recorded births place it above 97.86% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
37 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Marlena compares
11,321 Top 9% higher than 91% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Marlena's all-time total is 30x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Marlena | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 11,321 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 470 | 21 | 19,840 |
Marlena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Marlena's full recorded timeline at 1978, 69% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 31% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1925, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1978 peak of 470 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Marlena popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1925–2025
- Peak year (1978)
- 470
- Annual births at peak, across 101 years of records
Marlena by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (2,425 births, 21% of the file).
1980s was Marlena's strongest decade.
2,425 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Marlena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1920s 5
1920s
5 births
- 1930s 134
1930s
134 births
- 1940s 385
1940s
385 births
- 1950s 732
1950s
732 births
- 1960s
1960s
995 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,164 births
- 1980s
1980s
2,425 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,166 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,174 births
- 2010s 792
2010s
792 births
- 2020s 349
2020s
349 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 2,425 births (21% of all-time use).
How Marlena compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Marlena's total volume
Marlena by state
Where Marlena concentrates geographically, total births since 1925
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,662 | 14.7% |
| #2 | New York | | 692 | 6.1% |
| #3 | Texas | | 643 | 5.7% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 563 | 5.0% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 452 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 364 | 3.2% |
| #7 | Florida | | 355 | 3.1% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 329 | 2.9% |
1,662 of 11,321 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 37 reporting states.
Marlena appears in 37 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Marlena? ▼
Where does Marlena sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Marlena most popular? ▼
Where is Marlena most popular? ▼
How long has the name Marlena been used? ▼
What names are similar to Marlena? ▼
What to do with Marlena's data
- Marlena's decade-level peak was the 1980s (2,425 total births); usage has since declined to 349 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Marlenas (1,662 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Marlena
Nearby Names Like Marlena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Marlena
Compare Marlena side by side: Marlena vs Mary Marlena vs Margaret Marlena vs Maria
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Marlena
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Marlena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1978)
Similar record span (~100 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1925–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Marlena draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.