Given name & surname
Arlington
Arlington is used as a given name and a surname.
Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Arlington isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Arlington through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,701
- 1,586 boys · 115 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 44 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #5,628 for boys · #12,054 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,628 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 44 in 1917. It also appeared in 7 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 760 as a first name in 2020; 654 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
People named Arlington
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Arlington, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Livingston
“from the town of a beloved friend”
44% boys · 56% girls
Harlin
“an athletic woman” · “from the army”
73% boys · 27% girls
Aquila
“resembling an eagle; a constellation”
50% boys · 50% girls
Amory
“ruler and lover of one's home”
54% boys · 46% girls
Arbor
Arbor is a masculine given name. It is used in Albanian.
43% boys · 57% girls
Tennyson
“son of Dennis”
61% boys · 39% girls
Carlin
“a free woman” · “a free man”
51% boys · 49% girls
Unknown
59% boys · 41% girls