Total births
32,479
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.
- #4674
- among girls today
- 32,479
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
- 74%
- more common than other girls
Yes -- Dena is the #4674 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 #4674 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.
- #4674 among girls today
- 32,479 born since 1880
- 1960s peak decade
- 74% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Dena is currently the #4674 girls' name in America, more common than 74% of girls - 32,479 born since 1880, peaking in the 1960s.
- #4674
- among girls today
- 32,479
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
- 74%
- more common than other girls
Dena vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#4674
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 74% of names given to girls today.
1960s
Peak decade
28% of everyone ever named Dena was born in this single decade.
1970
Single peak year
1,542 babies were named Dena in 1970 - its busiest year on record.
How Dena compares
32,479 Top 4% higher than 96% of 17,726 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 85x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dena | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 32,479 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,542 | 48 | 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 at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1970
Current rank
#4,674
Active since
1880
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
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
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 vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
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% |
California share of Dena's total US births 11.1%
Even split
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? ▼
Dena has been given to 32,479 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #4674 as of the latest data. 1,542 babies were born in 1970, its single highest year.
When was Dena most popular? ▼
Dena was most popular in the 1960s decade with 9,174 total births. The single peak year was 1970.
Where is Dena most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Dena are California (3,601 births), Texas (2,205 births), New York (1,790 births).
How long has the name Dena been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Dena since 1880 -- 146 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Dena? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Denise, Denice, Denisse, Denisha, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
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
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare 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
Denise Girl
#1896 373,422 births
Denice Girl
#13620 10,649 births
Denisse Girl
#1959 7,370 births
Denisha Girl
4,306 births
Denver Girl
#780 4,235 births
Compare Dena side by side: Dena vs Denise Dena vs Denice Dena vs Denisse
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dena
Georgianna #4673
9,317 births · Peak 1942
Theodosia #4675
1,705 births · Peak 1918
Ona #4672
7,939 births · Peak 1916
Cherry #4676
11,580 births · Peak 1947
Dovie #4671
9,076 births · Peak 1917
Tula #4677
1,805 births · Peak 2019
Gertrude #4670
177,100 births · Peak 1917
Salina #4678
7,239 births · Peak 1977
Data Sources
Data as of June 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).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Dena: #4674 Girls' Name - 32,479 Births, Peak 1970." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/dena. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 June 2026.