Arlen

Arlen is an established English-language given name that may have come through a surname. One proposed explanation connects it with Harlan or Harland and the place-name meaning “hare land,” but that derivation is not accepted as certain. The name should therefore not be assigned a definite rabbit-related meaning without qualification.

Arlan, Arlin, and Arlyn are close spelling forms, while Arlene is a distinct name that can influence how readers first interpret it. Arlen’s two-syllable shape also resembles Arlo without making one a necessary short form of the other. For a family surname or honor name, the particular family connection may be better documented than the remote origin of Arlen itself.