US rank #263 Girls' name Peak 1917 145,356 births

Lena — #263 US girls' name

145,356 babies named Lena in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1917. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s86911890s124911900s127031910s236241920s228441930s105371940s73671950s57331960s51941970s46811980s45821990s44822000s60932010s105132020s5821
#263
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99% of names given to girls today.

1910s
Peak decade

16% of everyone ever named Lena was born in this single decade.

1917
Single peak year

3,004 babies were named Lena in 1917 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Lena

The Social Security Administration has registered 145,356 babies named Lena between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Lena currently holds the #263 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1917, when 3,004 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Lena performed strongest in the 1910s, accumulating 23,624 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Lena shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 9,588 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Lena in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Lena in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 145,356 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Lena at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

145,356

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1917

3,004 births that year

Strongest decade: 1910s

Current rank

#263

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Lena popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1917)
3,004
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
01,0002,0003,0004,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 603

Lena popularity over time — boys

326 total births recorded since 1888 (Lena as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 326 births
468101214 19751940193219261920191419041888 8

Lena by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1910s
Peak decade
1910s
23,624 births that decade — 16% of Lena's all-time total
1880s86911890s124911900s127031910s236241920s228441930s105371940s73671950s57331960s51941970s46811980s45821990s44822000s60932010s105132020s5821

Lena by state

Where Lena concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Lena
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
9,588 6.6%
#2 Texas
6,865 4.7%
#3 Pennsylvania
6,813 4.7%
#4 California
6,411 4.4%
#5 North Carolina
5,084 3.5%
#6 Illinois
4,384 3.0%
#7 Ohio
4,036 2.8%
#8 Louisiana
3,851 2.6%
New York share of Lena's total US births 6.6%
Even split

9,588 of 145,356 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Lena appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Lena?
145,356 babies have been named Lena since 1880. It currently ranks #263 among girls. The peak year was 1917 with 3,004 births.
When was Lena most popular?
Lena was most popular in the 1910s decade with 23,624 total births. The single peak year was 1917.
Where is Lena most popular?
The top states for the name Lena are New York (9,588 births), Texas (6,865 births), Pennsylvania (6,813 births).
How long has the name Lena been used?
Lena has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Lena?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Lenora, Lenore, Lennon, Lennox, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Lena

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.