Arlo
Say it: AR-lo
Boy4 letters2 syllables
#54
in Ireland (2025)
#57 with spellings combined
100
babies in 2025
#51
best rank (2024)
744
babies since 2009
Up 237
10-year rank change
Arlo through the years
Compare with another name →Show the numbers
| Year | Babies (boys) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 100 | #57 |
| 2024 | 118 | #51 |
| 2023 | 110 | #54 |
| 2022 | 75 | #87 |
| 2021 | 64 | #101 |
| 2020 | 54 | #117 |
| 2019 | 54 | #120 |
| 2018 | 59 | #115 |
| 2017 | 25 | #220 |
| 2016 | 22 | #232 |
| 2015 | 15 | #294 |
| 2014 | 11 | #364 |
| 2013 | 11 | #352 |
| 2012 | 8 | #430 |
| 2011 | 6 | #490 |
| 2010 | 6 | #491 |
| 2009 | 6 | #472 |
Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0.
★ What does Arlo mean?
Uncertain
English, first used by the poet Edmund Spenser for a hill in the Galtees, apparently from Aherlow.
Say it right
ARlo
The story of Arlo
Arlo has no settled meaning. Its earliest known use is in Edmund Spenser’s poem The Faerie Queene, where Arlo Hill is the place the gods gather for a great debate. Spenser seems to have coined the name. Arlo is also found as an Italian name, which some connect with Carlo, but that link is not well documented.
Spenser’s hill is in Ireland. He lived at Kilcolman in north Cork, and the historian P. W. Joyce argued that Arlo Hill is Galtymore, the highest of the Galtee Mountains, with the name taken from the Glen of Aherlow beside it.
Arlo first reached the CSO list in 2009 and grew quickly after 2015. Its best year so far was 2024, when 118 boys were named Arlo and it reached number 48. It is a little more popular in Northern Ireland, where it reached 40th in 2023.
Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Arlo (English and Italian proper noun)
- Wikipedia: Arlo
- P. W. Joyce, The Wonders of Ireland (1911)
- CSO VSA50, Boys Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
- NISRA, Baby Names in Northern Ireland
At a glance
Similar names
Sibling ideas
Spellings counted here
| Spelling | 2025 | All years |
|---|---|---|
| Arlo | 100 | 744 |
In Northern Ireland
#48 in 2025 with 42 babies. Best rank #40 (2023); 405 babies since 2011.
Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.