What does Marlene mean? Marlene [mar-lene] as a girls' name is pronounced mar-LEEN, mar-LYNE, mar-LAY-nah. It is of German, Latin and Greek origin, and the meaning of Marlene is star of the sea; from Magdala. Blend of the names Maria and Magdalene, to honor the Christian Biblical figure Mary Magdalene. Marlene Dietrich made the name familiar in the 1920s.