ninan.org

Marlene

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~86,500 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,261 among girls
Births in 2025
177 130,932 since 1880
Typical age
70 years, median

Marlene popularity over time

Marlene rank by birth year, 1904–2025Marlene ranked #1,877 in 1904 and #1,261 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #39, in 1935.#100#1,000#1,261best #39 in 19351920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1904–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Marlene was used most in 1936, when 5,354 babies were given the name. 1904 is the earliest year with at least five recorded births. It has held a top-100 place in 12 separate years.

In 2025 it ranked #1,261 with 177 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 18%. It climbed 292 places against the previous year.

Babies named Marlene per yearPeaks at 5,354 births in 1936.5,354 in 193601920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Marlene?

An estimated 86,500 living Americans are called Marlene. SSA has recorded 130,932 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Marlene?

The typical living Marlene is 70 years old. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Marlene a mid-century name.

Your Marlene

Ages of living people named MarleneHalf of living Marlenes are older than 70 and half younger.median 70020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Marlene is most common

Relative to births, Arizona carries 2.2× the national share of Marlenes. Ohio, California and Indiana follow.

Where Marlene is used more than average5 states use the name Marlene more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 1.8× the national rateINOhio: 1.9× the national rateOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.9× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: 2.2× the national rateAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 1.7× the national rateTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Marlene is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Arizona 65 2.2×
Ohio 97 1.9×
California 344 1.9×
Indiana 54 1.8×
Texas 277 1.7×

Marlene in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Marlene ranked #4,867 in 2025 on 4 births. That is 43% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Marlene comes from

English Wiktionary: given name from Hebrew.

Notable people named Marlene

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Marlene Dietrich German and American actress and singer 1901–1992 199
Marlene Dumas South African painter and draftsperson 1953 37
Marlene Favela Mexican model and actress 1976 32
Marlene Schmidt German actress 1937 28
Marlene Ahrens Chilean athletics competitor 1933–2020 26
Marlene Mathews Australian sprinter 1934 20
Marlene Weingärtner German tennis player 1980 16
Marlene Forte Cuban actress 1961 16
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 306 in 1930 to 2,597 in 1931 — 8.5 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Marlene

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/marlene.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).