Gena
Gena was last recorded in 2024, when 8 babies were given it; 12,824 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 10,700 Americans named Gena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 45 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gena is “a female given name, a rare variant of Gina or short form of Genevieve.”
/ˈd͡ʒɛnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gena?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #11,442, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
502 babies in 1968, the peak
Gena peaked in 1968, when 502 girls were given it, #420 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 8 | #11,442 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 5 | #16,071 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,594 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 6 | #14,383 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 7 | #12,927 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #13,186 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,347 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 14 | #8,142 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 10 | #10,411 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 16 | #7,510 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 15 | #7,961 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 16 | #7,548 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 16 | #7,641 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 21 | #6,388 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 28 | #5,186 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 30 | #4,853 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 22 | #5,990 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 30 | #4,513 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 36 | #3,925 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 43 | #3,372 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 39 | #3,476 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 51 | #2,851 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 68 | #2,287 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 47 | #2,866 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 51 | #2,662 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 68 | #2,074 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 63 | #2,159 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 60 | #2,221 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 71 | #1,977 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 98 | #1,570 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 104 | #1,505 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 96 | #1,581 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 107 | #1,454 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 126 | #1,250 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 128 | #1,182 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 152 | #1,016 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 149 | #1,021 | 0.09 |
| 1985 | 173 | #913 | 0.10 |
| 1984 | 202 | #793 | 0.12 |
| 1983 | 171 | #886 | 0.10 |
| 1982 | 189 | #831 | 0.11 |
| 1981 | 212 | #770 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 209 | #785 | 0.13 |
| 1979 | 267 | #654 | 0.17 |
| 1978 | 264 | #631 | 0.17 |
| 1977 | 297 | #582 | 0.19 |
| 1976 | 268 | #599 | 0.18 |
| 1975 | 361 | #496 | 0.25 |
| 1974 | 284 | #567 | 0.19 |
| 1973 | 313 | #534 | 0.21 |
| 1972 | 363 | #490 | 0.24 |
| 1971 | 396 | #485 | 0.24 |
| 1970 | 401 | #496 | 0.23 |
| 1969 | 389 | #494 | 0.23 |
| 1968 | 502 | #420 | 0.31 |
| 1967 | 486 | #423 | 0.29 |
| 1966 | 411 | #467 | 0.24 |
| 1965 | 325 | #530 | 0.18 |
| 1964 | 459 | #455 | 0.24 |
| 1963 | 458 | #452 | 0.24 |
| 1962 | 398 | #485 | 0.20 |
| 1961 | 272 | #617 | 0.13 |
| 1960 | 267 | #615 | 0.13 |
| 1959 | 197 | #712 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 197 | #700 | 0.10 |
| 1957 | 166 | #779 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 167 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 158 | #756 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 83 | #1,079 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 73 | #1,133 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 70 | #1,129 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 60 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 62 | #1,174 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 53 | #1,254 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 61 | #1,146 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 53 | #1,244 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 34 | #1,517 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 30 | #1,494 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,766 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 36 | #1,376 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 25 | #1,680 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 19 | #1,907 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 15 | #2,140 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 18 | #1,908 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 15 | #2,154 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 9 | #3,019 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 21 | #1,657 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 16 | #2,036 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 22 | #1,622 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 28 | #1,379 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 29 | #1,401 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 19 | #1,825 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 33 | #1,329 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 26 | #1,538 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 24 | #1,698 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 32 | #1,435 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 23 | #1,793 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 30 | #1,517 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 29 | #1,579 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 36 | #1,310 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,516 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 33 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,635 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 32 | #1,379 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,776 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 25 | #1,522 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 36 | #1,197 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 32 | #1,237 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,773 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 19 | #1,328 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 13 | #1,566 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 17 | #1,087 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,834 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 6 | #2,056 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,294 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 11 | #1,240 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,618 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 15 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 8 | #1,400 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 14 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 11 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 13 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 21 | #816 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 11 | #998 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 9 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,112 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 15 | #853 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 16 | #798 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 12 | #921 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 14 | #806 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 21 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 21 | #578 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 15 | #705 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 12 | #771 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 14 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 14 | #619 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 13 | #644 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 11 | #670 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 10 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1883 | 5 | #969 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 12 | #542 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 11 | #529 | 0.12 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Gena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Gena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gena, and how old are they?
10,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 12,824 Americans ever recorded as Gena. The median Gena alive today is 55 years old; half are between 45 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 10,754 people named Gena (10,668 women and girls, 86 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,034 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 120 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,710 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,120 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,040 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 574 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 89 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Gena born?
The states with the most babies named Gena are California, Texas and Illinois, with 33% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,217 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,094 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 517 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New York | 493 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 353 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Georgia | 343 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 328 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Florida | 324 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Tennessee | 317 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 316 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Gena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gena is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Gena with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 24,507 babies since 1880, Gena is the most given (52% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gena
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Gena and names like it
- Compare Gena and GennaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sGena peaked in 1968.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gena since 1910.
- The top names of 1968The year the most babies were named Gena.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Gena alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with GMost given first.