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Dalene

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Dalene

Pronounced dah-LEEN /dəˈliːn/High

Meaning: Dalene is a twentieth-century American girls' name, read most naturally as a trimmed Darlene — itself built from the endearment 'darling' with the popular -lene suffix — and it also works as a feminine of Dale, the Old English word for a valley.Low

In 30 seconds: Dalene is a soft mid-century American name, a streamlined cousin of Darlene meaning 'darling' with a graceful -lene ending (said 'dah-LEEN').

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Origin LowEnglish

MeaningDalene is a twentieth-century American girls' name, read most naturally as a trimmed Darlene — itself built from the endearment 'darling' with the popular -lene suffix — and it also works as a feminine of Dale, the Old English word for a valley.

U.S. rank (2003)#10639 ↗ Rising

2003 U.S. births9 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1961

Total births (all-time)≈ 1,575

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Dalene belongs to the great mid-century vogue for -lene names — Darlene, Marlene, Charlene, Arlene — that swept American nurseries from the nineteen-forties on. It reads most plausibly as a clipped Darlene, carrying the sense of 'darling,' though a parent could also hear it as a feminine of Dale, the Old English word for a valley.

The name climbed gently to a peak around 1961 at roughly sixty girls a year, then faded as the -lene sound aged out. A woman named Dalene at its height would be in her sixties now, and the name reads today as a warm, slightly countrified mother's-generation choice with no strong sign of revival.

Did you know? Dalene rode the same postwar wave as Darlene and Marlene, cresting around 1961 before the whole -lene family slipped out of fashion together.

Overall data confidence 60%

References — Dalene — contraction of Darlene; -lene name family, mid-century

Variations

DarleneDalenaDaleen

Nicknames

DaleLeneDallie

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Dalene…

Darlene— the fuller parent name it trims, same 'darling' root and -lene sound

Charlene— a same-era -lene name with the identical mid-century rhythm

Marlene— shares the soft two-beat -lene ending and postwar heyday

Arlene— another gentle -lene name from the same naming moment

Explore names like Dalene

By themevintage mid-century

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Dalene mean?

Dalene reads as a trimmed Darlene, from the endearment 'darling,' and can also serve as a feminine of Dale ('valley').

How do you pronounce Dalene?

It's said dah-LEEN /dəˈliːn/ — two syllables, stress on the second.

Is Dalene a boy or girl name?

Dalene is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Dalene?

Dalene was an uncommon mid-century name that crested in the early nineteen-sixties and has been rare since.