Glenna
Glenna was given to 7 girls in 2025, #12,345 among girls’ names; 25,629 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,500 Americans named Glenna and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (45% of everyone recorded); the median is 73 years old and half are between 63 and 80.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Glenna by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Glenna mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Glenna is “a female given name originating as a coinage, in quiet use since the 19th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “secluded valley” (glen).
From male given name Glen, from Scottish glen (“secluded valley”).
/ˈɡlɛnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Glenna?
#12,345 among girls’ names, 2025
Glenna fell from #12,225 in 2015 to #12,345 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 4.5 to 4.4 per million.
645 babies in 1951, the peak
Glenna peaked in 1951, when 645 girls were given it, #310 among girls’ names. The 7 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #12,345 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,582 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 12 | #8,708 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 6 | #14,083 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 9 | #10,552 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 9 | #10,772 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 9 | #10,853 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 11 | #9,535 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 12 | #9,072 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 8 | #12,225 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 12 | #9,168 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 11 | #9,812 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,616 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 10 | #10,649 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #12,698 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 9 | #11,805 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 10 | #11,074 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 13 | #9,179 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 9 | #11,774 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #12,213 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 20 | #6,050 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 18 | #6,397 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 11 | #9,051 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 16 | #6,717 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 20 | #5,548 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 17 | #6,004 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 30 | #3,864 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 31 | #3,651 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 30 | #3,658 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 31 | #3,517 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 45 | #2,713 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 42 | #2,842 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 40 | #2,932 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 41 | #2,850 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 38 | #2,968 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 52 | #2,281 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 49 | #2,276 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 53 | #2,072 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 51 | #2,083 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 47 | #2,207 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 42 | #2,316 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 41 | #2,324 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 45 | #2,228 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 49 | #2,093 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 61 | #1,789 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 62 | #1,755 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 52 | #1,897 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 77 | #1,444 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 85 | #1,291 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 99 | #1,164 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 87 | #1,255 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 91 | #1,188 | 0.06 |
| 1972 | 117 | #1,006 | 0.08 |
| 1971 | 143 | #912 | 0.09 |
| 1970 | 132 | #963 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 142 | #883 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 137 | #881 | 0.08 |
| 1967 | 161 | #783 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 152 | #804 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 164 | #775 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 210 | #714 | 0.11 |
| 1963 | 241 | #652 | 0.13 |
| 1962 | 298 | #570 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 258 | #633 | 0.13 |
| 1960 | 286 | #585 | 0.14 |
| 1959 | 297 | #567 | 0.15 |
| 1958 | 310 | #554 | 0.15 |
| 1957 | 324 | #532 | 0.16 |
| 1956 | 404 | #457 | 0.20 |
| 1955 | 461 | #410 | 0.24 |
| 1954 | 521 | #378 | 0.27 |
| 1953 | 539 | #364 | 0.29 |
| 1952 | 583 | #341 | 0.31 |
| 1951 | 645 | #310 | 0.36 |
| 1950 | 600 | #317 | 0.35 |
| 1949 | 567 | #327 | 0.33 |
| 1948 | 587 | #321 | 0.35 |
| 1947 | 613 | #312 | 0.35 |
| 1946 | 530 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1945 | 453 | #318 | 0.35 |
| 1944 | 512 | #298 | 0.39 |
| 1943 | 500 | #311 | 0.36 |
| 1942 | 489 | #310 | 0.36 |
| 1941 | 463 | #300 | 0.38 |
| 1940 | 463 | #294 | 0.40 |
| 1939 | 456 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1938 | 463 | #291 | 0.42 |
| 1937 | 499 | #277 | 0.47 |
| 1936 | 425 | #296 | 0.41 |
| 1935 | 479 | #278 | 0.46 |
| 1934 | 516 | #270 | 0.49 |
| 1933 | 504 | #276 | 0.50 |
| 1932 | 515 | #273 | 0.48 |
| 1931 | 564 | #256 | 0.53 |
| 1930 | 555 | #269 | 0.49 |
| 1929 | 477 | #306 | 0.43 |
| 1928 | 519 | #289 | 0.45 |
| 1927 | 429 | #325 | 0.36 |
| 1926 | 467 | #306 | 0.39 |
| 1925 | 410 | #329 | 0.34 |
| 1924 | 399 | #337 | 0.32 |
| 1923 | 391 | #327 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 330 | #365 | 0.27 |
| 1921 | 328 | #371 | 0.27 |
| 1920 | 268 | #406 | 0.22 |
| 1919 | 275 | #390 | 0.24 |
| 1918 | 276 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1917 | 249 | #401 | 0.23 |
| 1916 | 221 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 185 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1914 | 149 | #449 | 0.20 |
| 1913 | 113 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 97 | #487 | 0.17 |
| 1911 | 72 | #488 | 0.17 |
| 1910 | 66 | #500 | 0.17 |
| 1909 | 62 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 52 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 41 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 49 | #493 | 0.17 |
| 1905 | 46 | #501 | 0.16 |
| 1904 | 53 | #448 | 0.19 |
| 1903 | 50 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1902 | 41 | #495 | 0.16 |
| 1901 | 32 | #541 | 0.13 |
| 1900 | 45 | #506 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 51 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1898 | 45 | #461 | 0.17 |
| 1897 | 51 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 43 | #443 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 38 | #473 | 0.16 |
| 1894 | 24 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 32 | #479 | 0.15 |
| 1892 | 26 | #544 | 0.12 |
| 1891 | 19 | #616 | 0.10 |
| 1890 | 24 | #542 | 0.13 |
| 1889 | 20 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1888 | 25 | #505 | 0.14 |
| 1887 | 16 | #570 | 0.11 |
| 1886 | 15 | #584 | 0.10 |
| 1885 | 22 | #451 | 0.17 |
| 1884 | 9 | #758 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 10 | #629 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 6 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 10 | #555 | 0.11 |
| 1880 | 7 | #702 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Glenna a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Glenna has been given almost only to girls: 5 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Glenna: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Glenna, and how old are they?
11,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 45% of the 25,629 Americans ever recorded as Glenna. The median Glenna alive today is 73 years old; half are between 63 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 13,608 people named Glenna (13,594 women and girls, 14 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,956 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,570 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 6,220 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,620 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 676 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 235 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 112 |
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 Glenna born?
The states with the most babies named Glenna are Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910; West Virginia and Kentucky are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 2,473 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| West Virginia | 2,028 | not ranked | 5.2× |
| Kentucky | 1,797 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| Texas | 1,513 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 1,035 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Oklahoma | 1,028 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| California | 993 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Tennessee | 879 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Missouri | 868 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Virginia | 859 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Glenna is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Glenna is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 5.2 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 Glenna 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 4 names spelled alike, given to 29,053 babies since 1880, Glenna is the most given (88% 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 Glenna
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 Glenna and names like it
- Compare Glenna and GlennieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sGlenna peaked in 1951.
- Ohio’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Glenna since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Glenna: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1951The year the most babies were named Glenna.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Glenna alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.