Arlena
Feminine
The most performed English opera of the nineteenth century was Balfe's The Bohemian Girl, and its heroine — stolen as a child, raised among travelers, restored at the end — was called Arline. Her aria about dreaming she dwelt in marble halls was sung in American parlors for decades, and the name came out of the theater with it.
How old is the name Arlena?
Arlena first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Arlena alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 1,500 people named Arlena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arlena most popular?
Arlena peaked in 1883, reaching #817 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 10,100 places below that high. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Arline to Arlena
The story of Arlena
Balfe's opera opened in London in 1843 and was played across the English-speaking world for the rest of the century, and Arline went from the stage into the birth records the way theatrical names did before films existed to do the job. What arrived was a sound rather than a word: no source language, no meaning, nothing to translate. American parents then did what they do with a sound they like, which is decline it. Arline became Arlene, Arlene became Arlena, and the family spread sideways into Earlene, Charlene, Darlene and Marlene, none of which is derived from any of the others. They rhyme; that is the whole relationship.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Arlena belongs to the Arline and Arlene family, and that family has no established root. The readings offered — a feminine of the Irish surname Arlen, a reshaping of Charlene or Marlene, a coinage of the librettist — are proposals rather than findings. The final -a is an ordinary Latinate ending added in American records.
How the name formed
- Arline
- Arlene
- Arlena
Pronouncing Arlena
ar-LEE-nuh
Three syllables, stress on the middle one. ar-LAY-nuh is heard in Spanish-speaking families, where the e follows Spanish rather than English rules.
Nicknames for Arlena
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
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 192045 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #817reached in 1883
- Change vs 2022
- −11.1%8 in 2025, from 9
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.
Arlenas among us
people named Arlena are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Arlena
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Arlena sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Arlena beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arlena in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lena works immediately as a short form and is a name in its own right.
- The stress is unambiguous, so nobody has to guess.
- It has a nineteenth-century record without ever having been common.
- Arlene is the spelling almost everyone knows, and this one will be corrected toward it.
- It is strongly represented among older generations and carries that period clearly.
- There is no meaning to give a child when they ask, which is worth deciding about in advance.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Arlena to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Arlena? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Arlena
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arlenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Arlena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arlena in 2025?
- Arlena ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arlena?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Arlena — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arlena with classmates?
- Arlena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arlena
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arlena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arlena and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle