Marlene

Where Marlene comes from

Borrowed from German Marlene.
— Wiktionary's entry for Marlene
  • Vowel-ended
Marlene through the years
  1. 1901
    Marlene Dietrich born
    German and American actress and singer
  2. 1904
    First appearance
    #1,877 among girls with 5 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1930
    Around this time: Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel
    Film, 1930 · Source · Date
    “It was popularized by actress and singer Marlene Dietrich.”
  4. 1936
    Peak, #39
    5,332 babies named Marlene, the most in any year.
  5. 1944
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #106.
  6. 1953
    Marlene Dumas born
    South African painter and draftsperson
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Hebrew borrowed from German in early 20th century.
Namesakes
  • Marlene Dietrich · German and American actress and singer, 1901–1992
  • Marlene Dumas · South African painter and draftsperson, born 1953
  • Marlene Favela · Mexican model and actress, born 1976
  • Marlene Schmidt · German beauty pageant winner and actress, born 1937
  • Marlene Ahrens · Chilean athletics competitor, 1933–2020

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record. Events show what happened around then, not why parents chose the name. Quotes are from the linked Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).