Holding steady.
Popularity of Arlean since 1892
Babies named Arlean per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1918, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Arlean's real moment was 1906.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 18 |
| 1900s | 79 |
| 1910s | 251 |
| 1920s | 364 |
| 1930s | 297 |
| 1940s | 242 |
| 1950s | 247 |
| 1960s | 140 |
| 1970s | 24 |
| 1980s | 11 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Arlean is a rare feminine name that first entered U.S. birth records in 1892. It reached its highest recorded usage in 1906, but even at that peak it was not a common name, never breaking into the top 1000. According to Social Security data, the name has been given to fewer than 5 babies in recent years, and its trajectory since the 1900s has been stable with very low usage. No specific states show a concentration of Arleans, and it has no famous bearers listed. The name's proximity to more familiar variants like Arlene and Marlene suggests it was part of a trend for feminine names ending in '-lene' in early 20th-century America.
Arlean is a feminine name of English origin, likely a variant of Arlene, which itself is a modern coinage blending the prefix 'Ar-' (as in Arline or Ardith) with the suffix '-lene', popular in the early 20th century. The underlying root is Charles, from the Germanic element *karlaz* meaning 'free man'. Arlean first appeared in U.S. birth records in the 1890s and saw modest use in the early 1900s.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Arli, Lea, Lee
Sibling names for Arlean
Names that share Arlean's style, for a brother or sister.
