Girls' name · since 1880
Dena
32,479 babies named Dena in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1970. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #800 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,548 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 32,479
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Yes -- Dena is the #4548 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 32,479 recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dena has been recorded 32,479 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #4548 nationally and more common than 74% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1960s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #800 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #4,548 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 32,479 born since 1880
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dena ranks #800 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,548 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 32,479 born since 1880, peaking in the 1960s.
- #800 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,548 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 32,479
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Dena's 32,479 recorded births place it above 98.89% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
49 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Dena compares
32,479 Top 5% higher than 95% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Dena's all-time total is 86x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dena | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 32,479 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,542 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Dena's full recorded timeline at 1953, 84% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 16% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 13 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1970 peak of 1,542 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Dena popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1970)
- 1,542
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Dena popularity over time - boys
56 total births recorded since 1964 (Dena as boys' name)
Dena by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (9,174 births, 28% of the file).
1960s was Dena's strongest decade.
9,174 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 28% of all-time use.
Dena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 255
1880s
255 births
- 1890s 415
1890s
415 births
- 1900s 376
1900s
376 births
- 1910s 803
1910s
803 births
- 1920s 842
1920s
842 births
- 1930s 674
1930s
674 births
- 1940s 1,259
1940s
1,259 births
- 1950s
1950s
3,956 births
- 1960s
1960s
9,174 births
- 1970s
1970s
8,504 births
- 1980s 3,614
1980s
3,614 births
- 1990s 1,310
1990s
1,310 births
- 2000s 709
2000s
709 births
- 2010s 406
2010s
406 births
- 2020s 182
2020s
182 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 9,174 births (28% of all-time use).
How Dena compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Dena's total volume
Dena by state
Where Dena concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 3,601 | 11.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 2,205 | 6.8% |
| #3 | New York | | 1,790 | 5.5% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 1,785 | 5.5% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 1,298 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 1,295 | 4.0% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 1,208 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Missouri | | 909 | 2.8% |
3,601 of 32,479 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 49 reporting states.
Dena appears in 49 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Dena? ▼
Where does Dena sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Dena most popular? ▼
Where is Dena most popular? ▼
How long has the name Dena been used? ▼
What names are similar to Dena? ▼
What to do with Dena's data
- Dena's decade-level peak was the 1960s (9,174 total births); usage has since declined to 182 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Denas (3,601 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dena
Nearby Names Like Dena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dena
Compare Dena side by side: Dena vs Denise Dena vs Denice Dena vs Denisse
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dena
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1970)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Dena draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.