Arlo
Arlo was the 148th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,443 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 146th with 2,490 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 353 places. More babies were named Arlo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it AR-loh /ˈɑrloʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #148 boys, up 72 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,443boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20242,490 babies
- Total since 1880
- 25,135babies recorded
What does the name Arlo mean?
Arlo has no clearly documented origin. Wikipedia reports that it first appears in Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene (1590s) as the name of a hill, Arlo Hill, where the gods hold a debate, and that Spenser evidently invented it. Wiktionary says only 'from Italian', without naming an Italian source word. Wikipedia also notes growing use for girls in England and Wales. Popular glosses such as 'fortified hill' are not supported by the sources we checked.
How sure is this? Not documented. Spenser's invented place name is the earliest known use; no reliable etymology.
Related names: Arlow, Carlo.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Arlo', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Arlo', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Arlo popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 890 since 1929, 71 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #148 | 2,443 |
| 2020 | #220 | 1,701 |
| 2010 | #1,048 | 184 |
| 2000 | #2,530 | 37 |
| 1990 | #2,436 | 28 |
| 1980 | #1,659 | 35 |
| 1970 | #1,464 | 33 |
| 1960 | #1,912 | 18 |
| 1950 | #1,220 | 35 |
| 1940 | #904 | 49 |
| 1930 | #832 | 61 |
| 1920 | #718 | 82 |
| 1910 | #865 | 13 |
| 1900 | #906 | 9 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Arlo, counting every spelling?
Arlo is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #162 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #148 for Arlo on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,448 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlo | 2,443 | #148 | 11,450 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Arlo?
2,443 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Arlo (0.68 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Arlo born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Arlo.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Arlo?
About 21,800 people born in the US named Arlo are alive today, with a median age of 5; half are between 3 and 9. That makes Arlo a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Arlo by state
How common Arlo was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Vermont (6.1×), Maine (3.1×), Alaska (2.9×), Montana (2.9×), North Dakota (2.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Arlo: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Arlo, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Arlo · Sibling names for Arlo
Questions about the name Arlo
How popular is the name Arlo?
Arlo was the 148th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,443 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 146th with 2,490 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 353 places. More babies were named Arlo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Arlo a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Arlo in the US.
Where is Arlo most popular?
In 2021–2025, Arlo was most common in Vermont (8.12 per 1,000 boys), followed by Maine and Alaska.