ninan.org

Lena

Girls' name · Early 20th-century

Living in the US
~54,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#279 among girls
Births in 2025
1,106 146,805 since 1880
Typical age
34 years, median

Lena popularity over time

Lena rank by birth year, 1880–2025Lena ranked #43 in 1880 and #279 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #41, in 1884.#100#279best #41 in 188418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Lena was used most in 1917, when 3,015 babies were given the name. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. It has held a top-100 place in 41 separate years.

The 2025 position is #279, on 1,106 births. It slipped 17 places against the previous year.

Babies named Lena per yearPeaks at 3,015 births in 1917.3,015 in 1917018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Lena?

Roughly 54,100 Lenas are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 146,805 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Lena?

Half of living Lenas are older than 34, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 2010s. By the site’s era rules that makes Lena a early 20th-century name.

Your Lena

Ages of living people named LenaHalf of living Lenas are older than 34 and half younger.median 34020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Lena is most common

Relative to births, Vermont carries 2.6× the national share of Lenas. New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and District of Columbia follow.

Where Lena is used more than average5 states use the name Lena more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: 2.6× the national rateVTNew Hampshire: 2.4× the national rateNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: 2.1× the national rateMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 2.3× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 2.2× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Lena is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Vermont 21 2.6×
New Hampshire 63 2.4×
Pennsylvania 786 2.3×
District of Columbia 47 2.2×
Michigan 561 2.1×

Lena in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Lena ranked #288 in 2025 on 158 births. That is 40% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Lena comes from

The female name is from the Scandinavian, German and Russian pet form of Helena, Magdalena and Yelena (also spelled Elena).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Lena

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Lena Meyer-Landrut German singer 1991 77
Lena Headey British actress 1973 68
Lena Horne American singer, actress, dancer and activist 1917–2010 56
Lena Dunham American writer, director, actress, and producer 1986 53
Lena Olin Swedish stage actress, film actress, beauty pageant contestant, actress (1955–) 1955 47
Lena Philipsson Swedish female pop and schlager singer 1966 35
Lena Oberdorf association football player (2001-) 2001 30
Lena Endre Swedish actress 1955 29
Photo credits (5)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Lena

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Same feel, less common

The same matches, limited to names given at most half as often as Lena was in 2025.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/lena.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).