Arlen
A boys’ name with no widely documented etymology — two syllables, given to 44 babies a year in England and Wales.
Arlen by the numbers
In 2025, 44 babies in England and Wales were named Arlen. In the US, 77 were, though that figure is from 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
For the size of the two countries, it is given several times more often in England and Wales than in the US.
Its American peak was 206 babies in 1934, making it a 1930s name.
What we can tell you about Arlen
Not every name has a meaning to trace. Plenty are coined rather than inherited — invented outright, blended from two names, or respelled from an older one — and where we cannot find an etymology we can stand behind, we would rather say so than make one up. What follows comes from the birth records themselves.
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Arlen. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
- Allenfair; bright; handsome787 in the US (2017)
- Ardeneagle valley; a place name346 in the US (2017)
- Alenbright; a form of Alan38 in the US (2017)
- Arleeeagle wood; a form of Arley32 in the US (2017)
- Arsenmasculine and strong; a form of arsenio31 in the US (2017)
- Arjenbright spear; related to Adriaan29 in the US (2017)
Sounds like Arlen
Names that are said the same way as Arlen, however they are written. Sounding alike does not mean they share a history.
Names about as common as Arlen
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