Meaning and background
The story behind Marla
Marla is a variant of Marlene formed with a la ending. The linked Marlene entry explains a blend of Maria and Magdalene, referring to Mary Magdalene, and records popularization through Marlene Dietrich. That provides a multi-step personal-name history rather than a direct translation of Marla’s two syllables. A family can preserve the shorter form while recognizing that its older naming components belong to the linked longer name.
- Origin
- Marla is a variant of Marlene formed with a la ending. Source · Source 2
Try Marla out loud
Everyday moments“Marla, come here!”
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About Marla
Recorded as a dog’s name
Marla appears in 6 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/mɑɹlə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/mɑɹlə/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AA1 R L AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.