Arlo
Feminine
Arlo is given to both — 890 girls and 24,245 boys since 1880. See Arlo as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Arlo may be a Spenserian invention, an Irish place name, or a Germanic word for a fortified hill — and none of the three is settled.
How old is the name Arlo?
Arlo first appears in US birth records in 1929 — 96 years ago. The typical Arlo is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Arlo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arlo most popular?
Arlo peaked in 2023, reaching #1984 nationally. Today it ranks #2485, 501 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Arlo
Spenser, writing in Ireland, used Arlo Hill in The Faerie Queene, apparently from Aherlow in Tipperary — the earliest clear appearance of the word as a name. Arlo Guthrie made it familiar in America. It is used for both sexes now, and feminine Arlo appears in the registers in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Genuinely unsettled. Spenser used Arlo Hill in The Faerie Queene, apparently adapting an Irish place name. A Germanic barlo, 'fortified hill', and an Old English element are also proposed. None is established. The name is documented in use; its meaning is not.
Pronouncing Arlo
AR-loh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Arlo
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
- 1929
- Most girls named
- 202399 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1984reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −15.5%71 in 2025, from 84
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.
Arlo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Arlow in English — spelling variant
- Aherlow in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Arlos among us
people named Arlo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 22,638 born in 2025 was named Arlo
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Naudia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Arlo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Naudia climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Naudia's path sketches the road Arlo is walking now.
Arlo 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
Where Arlo is headed
Arlo should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Arlo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arlo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Spenser may have coined it from an Irish valley is a first-rate literary origin.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It is genuinely distinctive.
- The meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
- It reads as masculine to most English speakers.
- The feminine use is very new.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Arlo to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Arlo
Feminine · #2485 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arlos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Arlo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arlo in 2025?
- Arlo ranks #2485 among US girl names in 2025, with 71 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arlo?
- About 1 in every 22,638 US girls born in 2025 was named Arlo — 71 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arlo with classmates?
- Arlo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arlo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kinlee#2485 · Serayah#2485 · Sariya#2485 · Caitlyn#2485 · Laiken#2485 · Briseida#2485 · Marguerite#2485 · Levi#2485
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arlo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arlo and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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