Marlana
Feminine
Marlana sits between two names that were both doing well when it appeared. Marlene came from Germany in the 1930s and Lana from Hollywood in the 1940s, and this one takes the front of the first and the back of the second — which is the ordinary way American naming builds a new name out of two familiar ones. The Mar- opening was doing heavy work in the same decades.
How old is the name Marlana?
Marlana first appears in US birth records in 1940 — 85 years ago. The typical Marlana alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 2,700 people named Marlana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marlana most popular?
Marlana peaked in 1978, reaching #867 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 12,341 places below that high. See the whole 1978 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Marlana
American naming in the middle of the twentieth century made a great many women's names by combining a familiar front with a familiar back, and Mar- was one of the most productive openings available — Marlene, Marlana, Marlaine, Marlena, Marleen. What holds the group together is the rhythm rather than any shared origin. Marlana appears in the record from 1940 and peaked in the late 1970s, which puts it a generation after the names it was built from and squarely in one identifiable American moment.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No derivation is documented. Marlene, which the front resembles, was itself made by contracting Maria Magdalene; Lana is variously traced to Alana, to Svetlana and to Helena, none of them securely. The compound has no meaning of its own, and it would be wrong to borrow one from either parent.
Pronouncing Marlana
mar-LAN-uh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Some families say mar-LAH-nuh with a fuller middle vowel, following Marlena; both are heard.
Nicknames for Marlana
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
- 1940
- Most girls named
- 1979144 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #867reached in 1978
- Change vs 2021
- −45.5%6 in 2025, from 11
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.
Marlanas among us
people named Marlana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Marlana
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 Gladis test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Marlana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gladis climbed just as high around 1909, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gladis's path sketches the road Marlana is walking now.
Marlana 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
Marlana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marlana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lana is available as a short form and is a complete name currently in fashion.
- Three open syllables that sit well after almost any surname.
- It sounds established because both of its parts are, while being genuinely uncommon itself.
- Marlena, Marlaina and Marlanna all appear, so the spelling has to be given.
- The middle vowel is unsettled, so the name arrives two ways.
- There is no documented meaning, only an account of the two names it was built from.
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Marlana
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marlanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Marlana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Marlana in 2025?
- Marlana ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marlana?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Marlana — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marlana with classmates?
- Marlana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marlana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Tressa#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marlana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marlana and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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