Girls' name · peaked in 1936
Marlene name popularity since 1925
130,306 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Marlene. Half of them were born in 1949 or earlier, so the typical Marlene is about 77 years old in 2026. Marlene peaked in 1936 as the #39 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 130,306
- Named Marlene, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,268 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 129,947 girls · 359 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 3.77× its national share
Peak year is the year Marlene 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.
Marlene births per year, 1925–2025
1936 was the biggest year for Marlene both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1929 and 1934, Marlene became 31× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 2007 and 2012, its share of baby girls fell by 53%, from 1 in 3,250 to 1 in 6,850.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Marlene's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Marlene.
Decade by decade
Babies named Marlene 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 | 429 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 37,355 | 135 | #39 |
| 1940s | 29,295 | 76 | #110 |
| 1950s | 25,251 | 30 | #142 |
| 1960s | 12,951 | 34 | #247 |
| 1970s | 5,728 | 16 | #409 |
| 1980s | 4,769 | 30 | #474 |
| 1990s | 5,716 | 38 | #444 |
| 2000s | 5,283 | 0 | #538 |
| 2010s | 2,222 | 0 | #1,169 |
| 2020–25 | 948 | 0 | #1,268 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
42.3% of babies named Marlene from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Marlene is most popular
The index compares Marlene'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 Marlene.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 3.77× | 1,520 |
| South Dakota | 2.92× | 1,191 |
| Montana | 2.35× | 880 |
| Nebraska | 2.15× | 1,931 |
| Minnesota | 2.11× | 4,923 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Marlene 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Marlene (this page) | 129,947 | 1936 |
| Marline | 1,467 | 1935 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Marlene's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Marlene.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Marlene (1936).
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