Variant of Arlo, possibly from an Irish place name or Old English meaning 'fortified hill.'
Arlow is a distinctive variant of Arlo, a name whose origins are charmingly contested. Some etymologists trace Arlo to the Old English earlēah, meaning "eagle wood" or "warrior's meadow," while others suggest a connection to the Irish place name Aherlow (a glen in County Tipperary) or even a Spanish-language heritage via California rancho culture. The variant spelling Arlow adds a slight visual weight — the 'w' gives the name a more grounded, earthen quality on the page — while preserving the name's warm, open sound.
In the English-speaking world, Arlo gained its most enduring cultural foothold through Arlo Guthrie, son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, whose 1967 eighteen-minute talking blues epic "Alice's Restaurant" became an anthem of the counterculture and a Thanksgiving radio tradition. The younger Guthrie carried his father's social conscience and musical gift into a new generation, ensuring the name became associated with American folk tradition, gentle nonconformism, and a certain warm eccentricity. In 2015, Pixar's The Good Dinosaur introduced the name to an entirely new generation through its young dinosaur protagonist.
Arlow/Arlo has surged in popularity across the 2010s and 2020s as parents sought names that feel vintage-rural without being stiff — names that could belong to a great-grandfather and a toddler alike. Arlow specifically appeals to those who want the distinctive 'w' ending that echoes names like Harlow and Marlowe, giving it a slightly more antique, English countryside feel.
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