Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Legendary movie star Marlene Dietrich would have celebrated her 110th birthday today.
Dietrich was born in Berlin as Maria Magdalene Dietrich. When she was a teenager, she wanted to be a violinist.
A hand injury changed her mind. On her application to drama school in 1922, she blended her first and middle names into "Marlene."
Dietrich wasn't the first to do this. Many German women named Maria Helene as well as Maria Magdalene used Marlene as a short form. Germans had created blended names like Liselotte (from Elisabeth and Charlotte) since the 1600s.
During the 1920s, Dietrich played secondary roles in several German films. Her big break came in 1929, when German-American director Josef von Sternberg chose her for the lead femme fatale role of Lola Lola in "The Blue Angel," a joint production of Germany's UFA studio and Hollywood's Paramount.
Paramount brought Dietrich to Hollywood in 1930, touting her as the new Greta Garbo. She quickly became a star, and in 1936 was the world's highest paid actress.
The name Marlene already had some modest use in this country before Dietrich arrived. Its similarity to previous fashions inspired this. The 1930 census included 29,334 Arlenes, 6,868 Darlenes, 5,543 Charlenes and 1,413 Carlenes. There were only 629 Marlenes.
Dietrich's fame vaulted Marlene over the other "lenes." In 1929, 129 Marlenes were born; 2,583 were born in 1931. In 1936, when 5,331 were born, Marlene peaked at No. 39.
Like most names that skyrocket, Marlene then dropped off quickly. Its decline was slowed during World War II by the song "Lili Marleen." This German ballad about a soldier meeting his girl by a lamppost was a favorite with American soldiers who heard it played on Axis radio. Though the official spelling of the song is "Marleen," Americans usually remember it as "Lili Marlene," another tribute to Dietrich's influence.
This points out Marlene's varying pronunciations. In German, Marleen is "Mar-layne" and Marlene is "Mar-lay-neh." Americans in the 1930s, though, normally rhymed Marlene with Arlene and Darlene.
Most American Marlenes use the Americanized pronunciation, even though when Dietrich is referred to today, her name is usually given its three-syllable German form.
Americans who want their daughter's name pronounced like Dietrich usually spell it "Marlena." This was rare until the character Marlena Evans first appeared on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 1976. For one year (1978) there were more Marlenas born than Marlenes.
Marlene itself fell steadily except between 1988 and 1991, when it rose by 45 percent. Perhaps that's because of 1989's "Back to the Future Part II," in which Marty McFly visits 2015 and sees his son Marty Jr. and daughter Marlene — all three played by Michael J. Fox. Though Marlene barely appears, the novelty of having Fox play a teenage girl may have made her name memorable.
In 2010, the 289 Marlenes born in the United States ranked the name only 902nd. Marley and Marlee are now much more popular than Marlene for newborns.
Other Hollywood legend names like Audrey, Ava, Lana and Greta are coming back today. Probably the only thing that keeps Marlene unpopular is its unfashionable two-syllable pronunciation. If Dietrich had spelled her name Marlena, it might well be enjoying its own revival.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
