MEANING & HISTORY
What does Jolene mean?
Jolene is a modern formation from Jo and the familiar name ending -lene. The dictionary discusses the ending alongside names such as Helene and Magdalene, while the editorial account independently identifies the combination.
Since Jo can represent several longer names, one complete biblical translation should not be assigned to every Jolene. The song Jolene is a later cultural association rather than the original linguistic construction. Jolene and Marlene share a similar ending pattern but are not formed from the same two source names.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
A blend of the element Jo... in common anglicized forms of various Hebrew names and the ending ...lene shared by the German names Helene and Magdalene. Cognate with Charlene, Darlene, and Marlene, which were constructed in similar manner from the names Charles, darling, and Maria.
A female given name originating as a coinage.
Wiktionary: Jolene (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Jolene
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Liza Lorena
Filipino actress
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Liza Lorena
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Jolene in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Jolene
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Arlene♀Variant of Arline, a 19th-century literary name
- Joanne♀Joanna-family form; God is gracious
- Joen·Older Scandinavian form of Jon or Johan
- Jolina♀Namesake formation associated with Jolina Magdangal
- Mylene♀French Mylène: Marie + Hélène
- Carlene♀Feminine diminutive of Carl
- Darlene♀From darling with the name ending -lene
- Eugene♂Well born
What rhymes with Jolene?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Jolene further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q1551339 — Jolene (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Liza Lorena (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1551339 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jolene (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — jolene (opens in a new tab)
Consulted editorial entry, not user submissions: Early twentieth-century Jo+lene formation; later song association.