Arlette is the French form of the Germanic, Herleva, which is composed of the Germanic elements, hari (army) and era (honour) or erla (noble).

According to historical data, Herlève, (sometimes rendered as Arlette, Arletta and Herleva), was the mother of William the Conquerer.

Apparently, Arlette is a diminutive form of Herlève and for whatever reason, remained popular through the centuries while Herlève sort of fell out of usage.

Arlette has a somewhat dated country singer feel, while Herlève, if pronounced correctly, may make an interesting name choice for your daughter. It has the possible nickname options of Eve or Leve.

In 2018 Arlette re-entered the U.S. Top 1000, making leaps and bounds to #892. This is the first it has appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 names.

In France, Arlette peaked at number 23 in the popularity charts. It fell out of the French Top 500 in 1974.

Its Catalan version of Arlet is the 17th most popular female name in Catalonia as of 2018 and the 90th most popular in Spain

Other forms of the name include:

The designated name day is July 17.