Name Awesome

Arlen

#1,587 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Arlen has been given to 8,154 babies in the U.S. since 1909. In 2025 it ranked #1,587 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1934, with 206 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 90% boys, 10% girls all-time.

Babies named Arlen, 2025

1 in 31,000

Arlen over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Arlen over time

In 2025, Arlen went to 17% girls and 83% boys.

19092025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Arlen: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Arlen means

Arlen is a given name.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 7,345 boys were recorded with the name Arlen between 1909 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 206 in 1934; its best national rank was #380 in 1934.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,114 in 2020 to #1,587 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,254 in 2015 to #1,587 in 2025.

In the United States, 809 girls were recorded with the name Arlen between 1918 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 31 in 2007; its best national rank was #2,458 in 1937.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #6,659 in 2020 to #5,575 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #5,853 in 2015 to #5,575 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Arlen?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 31,000
107 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 16,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,587
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
21,477 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Arlen sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 21,477 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Arlen. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Arlens were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Arlen was born before 1954 — so the typical Arlen is around 71 today.

Median birth year
1954
About 71 years old
Biggest decade
1930s
22.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
18.4%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
4,240
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1930s — 22.4% of all recorded uses (1,648).

Is Arlen rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+99
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+527
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+667
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.81×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
51.9%
Peak was 1934 (206)
Years since peak
91
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#380
1934

Spellings of Arlen

Arlen is not the most common spelling — Alan is, with 14.1% against Arlen's 0.29%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Arlen is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Arlen was most concentrated in Michigan — about 1 in 25,000 boys, against 1 in 37,442 across all states with data. It was least common in North Carolina (1 in 100,000).

14 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Michigan1 in 25,000
  2. 2Pennsylvania1 in 25,000
  3. 3Tennessee1 in 25,000
  4. 4Washington1 in 25,000
  5. 5Wisconsin1 in 25,000
  6. 6California1 in 33,333
  7. 7Colorado1 in 33,333
  8. 8Florida1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Arlen is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Arlen was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 136,685 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in 100,000).

11 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Texas1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Arlen has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Arlen around the world

Where Arlen ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #763
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2015–2025
    #647
    in 2025
  • France
    2006–2022
    #6,267
    in 2022
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #2,134
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1968–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Arlen

People whose public names include Arlen, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Arlen in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Arlen. Linked forms have their own page here.

Arland

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Arlen by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,587
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 527
Best rank ever
#380
1934
Peak year
1934
206 that year
First recorded
1909
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
7,345
Count in 2025
107

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#5,575
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,084
Best rank ever
#2,458
1937
Peak year
2007
31 that year
First recorded
1918
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
809
Count in 2025
22

Names similar to Arlen

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ArlieArlinArleyArlanArlynArlisArlonKylenKalenArloNolenRylenOlenGalenArlandCallenCalenTalenDalenDaylenTylenHarlenCullenKellen

Names with a curve like Arlen

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Arlen, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

HueyFarrellFredricBuddyJereBarbaraDaroldDeltonGearldJeroldNancyGerold

Sibling names for Arlen

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Arlen

Top names of 1934, Arlen's peak yearThe 1930s in fullOther names that peaked in 1934Boys' names starting with AFantasy Boy Names