first name
MARLENE
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 106,957 people named Marlene, 64.6% reported their origin as White, 23.2% as Hispanic or Latino and 7.8% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Marlene peaked in 1936, when 5,354 babies got the name.
At least 130,932 babies have been given the name since 1904. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Marlene by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #114. The largest share of babies named Marlene, 42.1%, were born between 1928 and 1945, the Silent Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Marlene is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Marlene has been most common in North Dakota (3.5×), South Dakota (2.8×), and Montana (2.3×), and least common in Mississippi (0.16×).
126,642 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Marlene
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Marlene, most common first.
Compare
🔎 MARLENE 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 2,824 Americans Rarer than 59.5% of us Peaked in 1936 with 5,354 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/marlene/