Arline vs Arlyn
American parents have registered 17,626 Arlines since 1880, against 4,525 Arlyns. But in 2025 it was Arlyn that was commoner, 52 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Arline Arlyn
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 141 years in which either name was published, Arline for 87 years and Arlyn for 54 years. The lead changed hands 5 times.
Side by side
| Arline | Arlyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 17,626 | 4,525 |
| Most in one year | 677 | 75 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 52 |
| Estimated living today | 3,800 | 3,000 |
| Median age today | 79 | 28 |
| Peak year | 1924 | 2007 |
| Best rank | 253rd girls | 2,992nd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 3,975th |
| First recorded | 1883 | 1912 |
| Girls / boys | 17,590 / 36 | 2,344 / 2,181 |
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 Arlyns are over 28. That is 51 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Arline Maine (6.7×), New Hampshire (4.3×), Connecticut (4.2×)
- Arlyn Wisconsin (10.0×), Iowa (6.4×), Minnesota (5.2×)
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: Arline and Arlyn.