A friend of a friend who grew up in the Soviet Union claims that the name “Marlene” (as in Dietrich) was originally a sloppy portmanteau version of Marx+Engels and promoted as such by the authortities.
Instinctively, this seem very unlikely. Surely a folk etymology? Though one does find websites pushing it. So what is the truth?
This ought to be in GQ. Move it.
Actually, a portmanteau for Mary Magdalene
It seems unlikely, given that Dietrich’s actual given names were Marie Magdalene, which obviously lends itself to portmanteuing to ‘Marlene’ quite easily.
BTW, your link says 'Marx andLenin’, not ‘Marx and Engels’ and obviously isn’t meant to seriously be a list of people who’s names were inspired by these men, since it includes folks like Lizst (1811 - 1886!)
Done.