Arlee
Masculine
Arlee is given to both — 435 boys and 1,267 girls since 1880. See Arlee as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Arlee entered the US charts in 1915, peaked at #1949 in 1946, is rarely given in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Arlee?
Arlee first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Arlee alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 100 people named Arlee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arlee most popular?
Arlee peaked in 1946, reaching #1949 nationally. See the whole 1946 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Arlee
Ours, offered as ours. Around 1900 American records fill with a cluster of short names ending in -ee and -ie that have no ancestors anybody can find — Arlee, Ollie, Vernie, Clemmie, Effie. Some are clipped from longer names and some seem simply to have been made. That whole generation of naming has been under-documented because the names were small and rural and nobody wrote about them, and Arlee is one of its products.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is established. An English place name Arley, from a word for an eagle and leah, a clearing, is one possibility; Arlene, itself of unknown origin, is another. Neither is documented for this spelling.
Pronouncing Arlee
AR-lee
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Arlee
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 192514 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1949reached in 1946
- Change vs 2021
- +20.0%6 in 2022, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Arlee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Arley in English — spelling variant
- Arlie in English — spelling variant
Arlees among us
people named Arlee are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Arlee sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
Nobody names a baby alone.
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Arlee
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Arlees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Arlee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arlee in 2025?
- Arlee is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Arlee with classmates?
- Arlee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anthony#46 · Andrew#73 · Alexander#30 · Aaron#80 · Adam#101 · Arthur#87 · Albert#614 · Austin#113
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arlee? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arlee and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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