Girl · #4,736 in 2026

Arleen

Arleen or Arlene is an Irish feminine given name and variant of Carlene or Charlene and in the French derived from feminine diminutive of Charles.

  • English
Current Rank
#4,736
Peak Rank
#303 (1939)
Total Babies
13K
5-Yr Trend
-24%
1898
First Year
2026
Last Year
1939
Peak Year
#303
Peak Rank
13K
Total Count
128
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Arleen

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Arleen or Arlene is an Irish feminine given name and variant of Carlene or Charlene and in the French derived from feminine diminutive of Charles.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English

The Story of Arleen

Arleen first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1898, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1939: 415 births, good for #303 nationwide. About 20% of every Arleen on record arrived during the 1940s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Arleen ranks #4,736 for baby girls with 28 births, falling sharply (-24%). All told, over 13K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1890s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Arleen

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Arleen. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Arleen

Phonetically similar names — useful when Arleen is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Arleen

What does the name Arleen mean?
Arleen or Arlene is an Irish feminine given name and variant of Carlene or Charlene and in the French derived from feminine diminutive of Charles.
What is the origin of the name Arleen?
Arleen has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English.
How popular is Arleen in 2026?
In 2026, Arleen ranks #4,736 among girls' names in the U.S., with 28 babies given the name that year.
When was Arleen most popular?
Arleen reached its peak popularity in 1939, ranking #303 that year with 415 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Arleen most popular?
Arleen has historically been most popular in Hawaii, Wisconsin, Rhode Island. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Arleen.
Is Arleen a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Arleen is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Arleen?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Arleen include Esme, Gillian, Navy. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Arleen?
Common variants and related forms of Arleen include Arlene, Arlie, Arline. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Arleen

Arleen is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1898 and has accumulated 13K births in the dataset. Arleen's peak popularity came in 1939 when it ranked #303. Use the chart and map above to compare Arleen's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.