Marlena is a Latinate form of Marlene, the name Marlene Dietrich created by fusing her given names Maria Magdalena; it therefore combines Mary with Magdalene, "woman from Magdala". The a ending makes it feel Italian or Polish. In the United States Marlena stood at number 1260 in 2000, its best recent rank, and has eased to number 2983 in 2025.