How Many People Are Named Arlene?
An estimated 58,314 people in the United States have the first name Arlene. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 65 years old, and Arlene peaked in popularity in 1934 with 3,930 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Arlene as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Arlene paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Arlene is overwhelmingly female, 361 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Arlene has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
58,314
About 1 in 5,878 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1934
3,930 births
Total Registered
143,241
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Arlene
Arlene is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 143,241 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Arlene as a male name
Ranked #6,261 in 1989
7 male births in 1989
Peak: 1937 (23 births)
Arlene as a female name
Ranked #1,798 in 2024
111 female births in 2024
Peak: 1934 (3,917 births)
Arlene: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Arlene span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 34,944 babies were registered. Arlene has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Arlene by Decade
How has Arlene tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
| 1890s | 226 | 0 | 226 | |
| 1900s | 846 | 0 | 846 | |
| 1910s | 7,786 | 5 | 7,781 | |
| 1920s | 22,017 | 56 | 21,961 | |
| 1930s | 34,944 | 148 | 34,796 | |
| 1940s | 29,174 | 82 | 29,092 | |
| 1950s | 20,685 | 32 | 20,653 | |
| 1960s | 11,257 | 25 | 11,232 | |
| 1970s | 4,654 | 0 | 4,654 | |
| 1980s | 3,683 | 13 | 3,670 | |
| 1990s | 3,190 | 0 | 3,190 | |
| 2000s | 2,615 | 0 | 2,615 | |
| 2010s | 1,559 | 0 | 1,559 | |
| 2020s | 591 | 0 | 591 | |
Arlene by State
Birth registrations for Arlene span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 2,708 Arlenes were registered per state.
Arlene + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Arlene
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Arlene: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlene?
We estimate approximately 58,314 people named Arlene are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 5,878 Americans share this first name.
Is Arlene a common name?
Arlene is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 143,241 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Arlene most popular?
Arlene reached peak popularity in 1934, when 3,930 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Arlene is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Arlene a female name?
Arlene is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Arlene Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Arlene Smith, Arlene Johnson, Arlene Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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