Marlene
Marlene was given to 177 girls in 2025, #1,268 among girls’ names; 130,932 Americans have been recorded with it since 1904 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 80,600 Americans named Marlene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (62% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 50 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Marlene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Marlene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Marlene is “a female given name from Hebrew borrowed from German in early 20th century.”
Borrowed from German Marlene.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Marlene?
#1,268 among girls’ names, 2025
Marlene fell from #1,169 in 2015 to #1,268 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.12 to 0.11 per 1,000.
5,354 babies in 1936, the peak
Marlene peaked in 1936, when 5,354 babies were given it (5,332 girls, #39 among girls’ names). The 177 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 177 | #1,268 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 137 | #1,558 | 0.08 |
| 2023 | 167 | #1,354 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 191 | #1,257 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 141 | #1,502 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 135 | #1,568 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 160 | #1,408 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 163 | #1,384 | 0.10 |
| 2017 | 194 | #1,235 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 199 | #1,231 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (119)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 216 | #1,169 | 0.12 |
| 2014 | 211 | #1,168 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 230 | #1,076 | 0.13 |
| 2012 | 257 | #983 | 0.15 |
| 2011 | 299 | #874 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 293 | #901 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 392 | #739 | 0.21 |
| 2008 | 491 | #629 | 0.26 |
| 2007 | 591 | #528 | 0.31 |
| 2006 | 591 | #515 | 0.31 |
| 2005 | 537 | #538 | 0.29 |
| 2004 | 606 | #485 | 0.33 |
| 2003 | 559 | #513 | 0.31 |
| 2002 | 510 | #540 | 0.28 |
| 2001 | 487 | #544 | 0.27 |
| 2000 | 519 | #513 | 0.29 |
| 1999 | 432 | #577 | 0.24 |
| 1998 | 429 | #573 | 0.24 |
| 1997 | 448 | #531 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 519 | #476 | 0.30 |
| 1995 | 577 | #444 | 0.33 |
| 1994 | 561 | #456 | 0.31 |
| 1993 | 612 | #407 | 0.34 |
| 1992 | 716 | #358 | 0.39 |
| 1991 | 752 | #344 | 0.40 |
| 1990 | 670 | #391 | 0.35 |
| 1989 | 601 | #412 | 0.33 |
| 1988 | 489 | #460 | 0.27 |
| 1987 | 492 | #449 | 0.28 |
| 1986 | 478 | #452 | 0.28 |
| 1985 | 445 | #474 | 0.26 |
| 1984 | 437 | #473 | 0.26 |
| 1983 | 457 | #451 | 0.27 |
| 1982 | 481 | #447 | 0.28 |
| 1981 | 449 | #472 | 0.27 |
| 1980 | 440 | #479 | 0.27 |
| 1979 | 466 | #442 | 0.29 |
| 1978 | 456 | #440 | 0.30 |
| 1977 | 492 | #417 | 0.32 |
| 1976 | 492 | #412 | 0.34 |
| 1975 | 493 | #409 | 0.34 |
| 1974 | 548 | #381 | 0.37 |
| 1973 | 529 | #386 | 0.36 |
| 1972 | 655 | #343 | 0.43 |
| 1971 | 735 | #343 | 0.44 |
| 1970 | 862 | #316 | 0.49 |
| 1969 | 889 | #304 | 0.53 |
| 1968 | 1,004 | #270 | 0.61 |
| 1967 | 1,022 | #264 | 0.62 |
| 1966 | 1,141 | #249 | 0.67 |
| 1965 | 1,212 | #247 | 0.69 |
| 1964 | 1,289 | #244 | 0.68 |
| 1963 | 1,554 | #219 | 0.81 |
| 1962 | 1,557 | #214 | 0.79 |
| 1961 | 1,638 | #211 | 0.81 |
| 1960 | 1,645 | #209 | 0.81 |
| 1959 | 1,780 | #200 | 0.88 |
| 1958 | 1,964 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 1957 | 2,126 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1956 | 2,128 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1955 | 2,566 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 1954 | 2,651 | #141 | 1.4 |
| 1953 | 2,767 | #128 | 1.5 |
| 1952 | 3,132 | #117 | 1.7 |
| 1951 | 3,007 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1950 | 3,130 | #112 | 1.8 |
| 1949 | 3,045 | #110 | 1.8 |
| 1948 | 3,053 | #109 | 1.8 |
| 1947 | 2,989 | #114 | 1.7 |
| 1946 | 2,818 | #112 | 1.8 |
| 1945 | 2,528 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1944 | 2,566 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1943 | 2,857 | #104 | 2.0 |
| 1942 | 3,253 | #84 | 2.4 |
| 1941 | 3,068 | #83 | 2.5 |
| 1940 | 3,118 | #80 | 2.7 |
| 1939 | 3,773 | #64 | 3.4 |
| 1938 | 4,473 | #51 | 4.1 |
| 1937 | 5,037 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1936 | 5,332 | #39 | 5.1 |
| 1935 | 4,830 | #39 | 4.6 |
| 1934 | 3,755 | #57 | 3.6 |
| 1933 | 4,045 | #50 | 4.0 |
| 1932 | 3,219 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 1931 | 2,585 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1930 | 306 | #388 | 0.27 |
| 1929 | 129 | #605 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 99 | #712 | 0.09 |
| 1927 | 80 | #820 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 63 | #949 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 58 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1924 | 73 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 114 | #689 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 59 | #974 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 43 | #1,178 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 56 | #986 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 47 | #1,070 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 46 | #1,083 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 40 | #1,141 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 25 | #1,514 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 33 | #1,214 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 21 | #1,419 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 22 | #1,210 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 8 | #2,283 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,515 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 10 | #1,587 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,896 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,867 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,066 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Marlene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Marlene has been given almost only to girls: 359 boys in 119 years of records.
Girls and boys named Marlene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Marlene, and how old are they?
80,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 62% of the 130,932 Americans ever recorded as Marlene. The median Marlene alive today is 70 years old; half are between 50 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 106,957 people named Marlene (106,821 women and girls, 136 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 93,900 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% 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 | 17,900 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 34,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 10,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,570 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,360 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,310 |
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 Marlene born?
The states with the most babies named Marlene are California, Pennsylvania and New York, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15,982 | #809 | 1.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 12,030 | #908 | 1.4× |
| New York | 11,902 | #1,771 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 8,839 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 8,087 | #936 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 7,503 | #1,349 | 1.3× |
| Wisconsin | 5,116 | #764 | 1.6× |
| Minnesota | 4,931 | #803 | 1.8× |
| Texas | 4,235 | #1,388 | 0.5× |
| New Jersey | 3,645 | #1,120 | 1.0× |
Where Marlene is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Marlene is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 2.3 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 Marlene 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 154,097 babies since 1880, Marlene is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 177 of their 302 babies (59%), 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 Marlene
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 Marlene and names like it
- Compare Marlene and MarlenaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sMarlene peaked in 1936.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Marlene since 1910.
- German namesWiktionary’s origin for Marlene: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1936The year the most babies were named Marlene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Marlene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.