Marlena
Feminine · “Maria and Magdalena joined”
Marlena comes from a German contraction that most people have stopped noticing. Marlene is Maria and Magdalena run together into one word, which German does readily, and Marlena is the Latinate version of that.
How old is the name Marlena?
Marlena first appears in US birth records in 1925 — 100 years ago. The typical Marlena alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 10,500 people named Marlena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marlena most popular?
Marlena peaked in 1978, reaching #430 nationally. Today it ranks #2957, 2,527 places below that high. See the whole 1978 chart.
Where it comes from
From Maria Magdalena to Marlena
The story of Marlena
German-speaking Catholic families gave Maria Magdalena in full for centuries, and speech did what speech does: it wore the two names into one. Marlene became a name in its own right in the early twentieth century and traveled internationally very fast. Marlena is the form with a Latin ending, used in Poland, Italy and Spanish-speaking countries, and it reaches United States records from all of them as well as from English-speaking parents who preferred the fuller ending.
Meaning
Maria and Magdalena joined
Marlene is documented as a contraction of Maria Magdalena, a compound Catholic name of exactly the kind German and Italian naming produces. Magdalena means 'of Magdala', a town on the Sea of Galilee, and Maria's own meaning has never been settled. So the construction is certain and one of the two halves it is built from is not.
How the name formed
- Maria Magdalena
- Marlene
- Marlena
Related forms: Marlene · Marlena · Marlena · Marlén
Pronouncing Marlena
mar-LEE-nah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. German Marlene is mar-LAY-nuh, with a different middle vowel; Polish says mar-LEH-na. All three are heard in American use depending on the family.
Nicknames for Marlena
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
- 1925
- Most girls named
- 1978470 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #430reached in 1978
- Change vs 2023
- +3.7%56 in 2025, from 54
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.
Marlena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marlene in German — related form
- Marlena in Polish — same name
- Marlena in Italian — same name
- Marlén in Spanish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania, California, Michigan.
Marlenas among us
people named Marlena are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 28,701 born in 2025 was named Marlena
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 Mitzi test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Marlena's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mitzi climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mitzi's path sketches the road Marlena is walking now.
Marlena 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 Marlena is headed
Marlena is easing off slowly — about 18% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Marlena beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marlena in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lena and Mar are both ready short forms and both are established names.
- A documented construction from two very old names rather than an invention.
- Three syllables that read correctly in German, Polish, Italian and English alike.
- Marlena, Marlene and Marlyn all circulate and are said differently from each other.
- It carries a strong mid-twentieth-century flavor, which reads as either stylish or dated.
- The middle vowel differs between German and Latinate use, so the child will hear both.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Marlena 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 Marlena? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Marlena
Feminine · #2957 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marlenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 10,500 people named Marlena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Marlena in 2025?
- Marlena ranks #2957 among US girl names in 2025, with 56 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marlena?
- About 1 in every 28,701 US girls born in 2025 was named Marlena — 56 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marlena with classmates?
- Marlena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marlena
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Klaire#2957 · Pauline#2957 · Alea#2957 · Odelia#2957 · Rahaf#2957 · Rosabella#2957 · Kenzlee#2957 · Kalli#2957
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marlena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marlena 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