Girls' name · peaked in 1934
Arlene name popularity since 1925
124,800 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Arlene. Half of them were born in 1944 or earlier, so the typical Arlene is about 82 years old in 2026. Arlene peaked in 1934 as the #53 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 124,800
- Named Arlene, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1934
- #53 for girls that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,632 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 124,461 girls · 339 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 3.49× its national share
Peak year is the year Arlene made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Arlene births per year, 1925–2025
1934 was the biggest year for Arlene both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1929 and 1934, Arlene became 1.7× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1939 and 1944, its share of baby girls fell by 37%, from 1 in 306 to 1 in 489.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Arlene's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Arlene.
Decade by decade
Babies named Arlene in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 12,279 | 39 | – |
| 1930s | 34,796 | 148 | #59 |
| 1940s | 29,093 | 82 | #99 |
| 1950s | 20,652 | 32 | #175 |
| 1960s | 11,234 | 25 | #266 |
| 1970s | 4,654 | 0 | #461 |
| 1980s | 3,670 | 13 | #568 |
| 1990s | 3,190 | 0 | #705 |
| 2000s | 2,615 | 0 | #830 |
| 2010s | 1,559 | 0 | #1,382 |
| 2020–25 | 719 | 0 | #1,632 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.8% of babies named Arlene from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Arlene is most popular
The index compares Arlene's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Arlene.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 3.49× | 1,350 |
| South Dakota | 2.65× | 1,036 |
| New York | 2.17× | 20,169 |
| Maine | 1.99× | 1,044 |
| New Jersey | 1.95× | 6,590 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Arlene and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Arlene (this page) | 124,461 | 1934 |
| Arline | 10,409 | 1936 |
| Arlyne | 1,030 | 1921 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Arlene's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Arlene.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Arlene (1934).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data