Marlene

mar-LEEN, mar-LAY-nah

German variation of Madeline; combination of Mary and Magdalen

Marlene Origin and Meaning

The name Marlene is a girl's name of German origin.

Marlene Dietrich made it famous when she condensed her first two names, Maria and Magdalena. Now more often pronounced with two syllables rather than three.

Marlene Rank in US Top 1000

# 983 in the US

Popularity of the name Marlene

• 1457 Nameberry 2025
• 362 Unique 2023
• 51 Germany 2024
• 371 Mexico 2021
• 44 Austria 2023

20 Names Similar to Marlene

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Marlene.

• Yvonne
• Nicola
• Sonia
• Nicolette
• Rosanna
• Gillian
• Rosemarie
• Justine
• Paulina
• Maureen
• Anita
• Lorraine
• Luisa
• Darla
• Annabeth
• Angeline
• Sonya
• Claudette
• Clarisse
• Martina

Famous People Named Marlene

• Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich German actress
• Marlene Favela Mexican actress
• Marlene Hagge American pro golfer
• Marlène Jobert French actress and children's book author, mother of actress Eva Green
• Marlene King American TV producer
• Marlene van Niekerk South African author
• Marlene Weingärtner German tennis player

The name Marlene in Pop Culture

• Marlene McKinnon character in the "Harry Potter" series
• Marlene Wallace character in video game Final Fantasy VII
• Marlene character in the Divergent series
• Marlene Griggs Knope, Leslie's mother on TV's "Parks and Recreation"
• "Martha Marcy May Marlene " 2011 film
• Marlene Dunne Character in "Daisy Jones & The Six"