How Many People Are Named Marlene?
An estimated 71,496 people in the United States have the first name Marlene. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 61 years old, and Marlene peaked in popularity in 1936 with 5,354 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Marlene 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 Marlene paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Marlene is overwhelmingly female, 359 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Marlene 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
71,496
About 1 in 4,794 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
61
years old
Peak Year
1936
5,354 births
Total Registered
130,755
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Marlene
Marlene is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 130,755 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Marlene as a male name
Ranked #7,480 in 1994
7 male births in 1994
Peak: 1936 (22 births)
Marlene as a female name
Ranked #1,551 in 2024
137 female births in 2024
Peak: 1936 (5,332 births)
Marlene: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Marlene span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 37,490 babies were registered. Marlene has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Marlene by Decade
How has Marlene 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.
Marlene by State
Birth registrations for Marlene span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Pennsylvania, New York. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 2,481 Marlenes were registered per state.
Marlene + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Marlene
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Marlene: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlene?
We estimate approximately 71,496 people named Marlene 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 4,794 Americans share this first name.
Is Marlene a common name?
Marlene is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 130,755 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Marlene most popular?
Marlene reached peak popularity in 1936, when 5,354 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Marlene is approximately 61 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Marlene a female name?
Marlene is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Marlene Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Marlene Smith, Marlene Johnson, Marlene 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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