Arlena vs Arline
American parents have registered 17,626 Arlines since 1880, against 2,830 Arlenas. But in 2025 it was Arlena that was commoner, 8 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Arlena Arline
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 142 years in which either name was published, Arline for 104 years and Arlena for 38 years. The lead changed hands 13 times.
- 1883–1969 Arline ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1970–1997 Arlena ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1998–2013 Arline ahead, apart from one short spell
- 2019–2025 Arlena ahead
7 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Arlena | Arline | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,830 | 17,626 |
| Most in one year | 60 | 677 |
| Babies in 2025 | 8 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 1,500 | 3,800 |
| Median age today | 48 | 79 |
| Peak year | 1919 | 1924 |
| Best rank | 909th girls | 253rd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 10,917th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1883 | 1883 |
| Girls / boys | 2,830 / 0 | 17,590 / 36 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Arlines alive today are over 79; half the Arlenas are over 48. That is 31 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Arlena Mississippi (16.9×), Georgia (5.4×), Alabama (4.0×)
- Arline Maine (6.7×), New Hampshire (4.3×), Connecticut (4.2×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Arlena and Arline.