boy's name

Arlan

  • Gender Boy
  • Letters 5
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 3,615

Arlan is a boy's name. In 2025 it was given to 57 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 1936, when 87 babies were given the name.
  • After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
  • Today about 1 in 58,167 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1912.

Arlan over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

606
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Arlan by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 90
1920s 264
1930s 604
1940s 606
1950s 517
1960s 309
1970s 169
1980s 122
1990s 104
2000s 134
2010s 245
2020s (to 2025) 270

How popular is Arlan?

In 2025, Arlan was given to 57 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Arlan is used

England & Wales #1,805 14 in 2025
United States #2,393 57 in 2025
Canada #3,123 5 in 2021
France #5,336 5 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Arlan

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Arlan also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Arlan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Arlan

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Arlan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Arlan

How popular is the name Arlan?

In 2025, Arlan was given to 57 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Arlan a girl's or a boy's name?

Arlan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

When was Arlan most popular?

Arlan peaked in 1936, when 87 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.

Is Arlan a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Arlan currently ranks #1,805 in the United States. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.