# Arlene (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/arlene/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Arleen, Arline, Arlena |
| US babies named this | 143,371 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 361 / 143,010 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 29, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A nineteenth-century coinage probably based on similar-sounding names such as Charlene and Arlette.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 179 | 1,314 |
| 2012 | 157 | 1,452 |
| 2013 | 159 | 1,427 |
| 2014 | 150 | 1,487 |
| 2015 | 171 | 1,382 |
| 2016 | 148 | 1,524 |
| 2017 | 153 | 1,466 |
| 2018 | 114 | 1,787 |
| 2019 | 120 | 1,728 |
| 2020 | 134 | 1,571 |
| 2021 | 115 | 1,769 |
| 2022 | 119 | 1,742 |
| 2023 | 112 | 1,806 |
| 2024 | 112 | 1,796 |
| 2025 | 127 | 1,632 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 7 | 2,933 |
| 1947 | 5 | 3,750 |
| 1948 | 5 | 3,703 |
| 1950 | 5 | 3,711 |
| 1952 | 5 | 3,764 |
| 1953 | 6 | 3,443 |
| 1954 | 5 | 3,850 |
| 1955 | 5 | 3,905 |
| 1957 | 6 | 3,570 |
| 1960 | 8 | 3,095 |
| 1961 | 6 | 3,662 |
| 1963 | 6 | 3,666 |
| 1967 | 5 | 3,994 |
| 1986 | 6 | 5,980 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,263 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3 | 3,824 |
| 2002 | 3 | 4,137 |
| 2008 | 3 | 5,545 |
| 2010 | 3 | 5,707 |
| 2015 | 5 | 4,103 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,891 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,927 |

## In other languages

- Portuguese: Arlene

## People named Arlene

- Arlene Dahl, American actress (1925–2021)
- Arlene Foster, British politician (born 1970)
- Arlene Francis, American actress and television host (1907–2001)
- Arlene Martel, American writer, actress and acting coach (1936–2014)
- Arlene Golonka, actress (1936–2021)
- Arlene Boxall, field hockey player
- Arlene Harris, Canadian-born American radio, film, and television actress (1896-1976)
- Arlene Saunders, American singer (1930-2020)
- Arlene Howell, American actress
- Arlene Raven, American art historian
- Arlene Sanford, Film director, television director
- Arlene McQuade, American actress (1936-2014)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.