Arlo

Arlo's origins are debated, with some tracing it to an anglicized form of the Irish place Aherlow, while others link it to the Old English elements meaning 'fortified hill.' Edmund Spenser used 'Arlo Hill' in his 16th-century poem The Faerie Queene, bringing the name into literary consciousness. Its revival in English-speaking countries in the 21st century has established it firmly as a modern given name.

Arlo has undergone one of the more remarkable revivals in recent British naming culture, moving from near-obscurity to the upper reaches of the boys' name charts within little more than a decade. Its literary pedigree in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene gives it a cultured provenance appreciated by parents with a taste for the classical, while its short, punchy sound satisfies the modern preference for brief, confident names. In the United States, Arlo Guthrie, the folk singer son of Woody Guthrie, kept the name alive through the late 20th century as an emblem of artistic, countercultural sensibility. In Britain, the name's rise has been driven partly by its association with the creative class and partly by the broader fashion for Old English and nature-adjacent names. It sits comfortably in the company of names like Monty, Rafferty, and Rafferty, feeling simultaneously bohemian and grounded. Its clean two-syllable form ages well, suiting both a small child and a confident adult.