Lena
Lena was given to 1,106 girls in 2025, #279 among girls’ names; 146,805 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 52,300 Americans named Lena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (36% of everyone recorded); the median is 33 years old and half are between 12 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lena is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
The female name is from the Scandinavian, German and Russian pet form of Helena, Magdalena and Yelena (also spelled Elena). The river in Yakutia is from Russian Лена (Lena), from Evenki Елюенэ (Jeljujenə, “the Large River”). Compare to Yakut Өлүөнэ (Ölüöne). (Norwegian river): Probably related to Old Norse leir (“clay”). (Town in Toten): From Old Norse lein.
/ˈlɛ.nə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lena?
#279 among girls’ names, 2025
Lena fell from #273 in 2015 to #279 in 2025 among girls’ names, although its share of girls born rose from 0.65 to 0.69 per 1,000.
3,015 babies in 1917, the peak
Lena peaked in 1917, when 3,015 babies were given it (3,004 girls, #85 among girls’ names). The 1,106 births of 2025 are 37% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,106 | #279 | 0.69 |
| 2024 | 1,218 | #262 | 0.75 |
| 2023 | 1,157 | #270 | 0.72 |
| 2022 | 1,220 | #254 | 0.74 |
| 2021 | 1,091 | #294 | 0.66 |
| 2020 | 1,143 | #271 | 0.71 |
| 2019 | 1,246 | #267 | 0.74 |
| 2018 | 1,102 | #302 | 0.65 |
| 2017 | 1,084 | #303 | 0.63 |
| 2016 | 1,144 | #275 | 0.65 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,162 | #273 | 0.65 |
| 2014 | 1,168 | #280 | 0.65 |
| 2013 | 982 | #331 | 0.56 |
| 2012 | 885 | #359 | 0.50 |
| 2011 | 901 | #360 | 0.51 |
| 2010 | 842 | #376 | 0.47 |
| 2009 | 768 | #416 | 0.42 |
| 2008 | 728 | #440 | 0.38 |
| 2007 | 716 | #448 | 0.37 |
| 2006 | 644 | #483 | 0.34 |
| 2005 | 654 | #466 | 0.35 |
| 2004 | 555 | #518 | 0.30 |
| 2003 | 568 | #504 | 0.31 |
| 2002 | 514 | #534 | 0.29 |
| 2001 | 473 | #555 | 0.26 |
| 2000 | 477 | #546 | 0.26 |
| 1999 | 472 | #536 | 0.27 |
| 1998 | 483 | #522 | 0.27 |
| 1997 | 449 | #530 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 422 | #553 | 0.24 |
| 1995 | 400 | #574 | 0.23 |
| 1994 | 457 | #538 | 0.26 |
| 1993 | 414 | #575 | 0.23 |
| 1992 | 483 | #501 | 0.26 |
| 1991 | 451 | #516 | 0.24 |
| 1990 | 453 | #524 | 0.24 |
| 1989 | 412 | #549 | 0.22 |
| 1988 | 398 | #550 | 0.22 |
| 1987 | 419 | #506 | 0.24 |
| 1986 | 431 | #496 | 0.25 |
| 1985 | 519 | #424 | 0.30 |
| 1984 | 466 | #445 | 0.28 |
| 1983 | 446 | #459 | 0.27 |
| 1982 | 513 | #427 | 0.30 |
| 1981 | 480 | #449 | 0.29 |
| 1980 | 499 | #434 | 0.30 |
| 1979 | 451 | #453 | 0.28 |
| 1978 | 429 | #461 | 0.28 |
| 1977 | 462 | #443 | 0.30 |
| 1976 | 448 | #440 | 0.31 |
| 1975 | 472 | #425 | 0.32 |
| 1974 | 485 | #412 | 0.33 |
| 1973 | 453 | #430 | 0.31 |
| 1972 | 478 | #412 | 0.31 |
| 1971 | 495 | #422 | 0.30 |
| 1970 | 507 | #435 | 0.29 |
| 1969 | 481 | #439 | 0.29 |
| 1968 | 462 | #443 | 0.28 |
| 1967 | 483 | #424 | 0.29 |
| 1966 | 546 | #391 | 0.32 |
| 1965 | 521 | #407 | 0.30 |
| 1964 | 569 | #409 | 0.30 |
| 1963 | 513 | #428 | 0.27 |
| 1962 | 529 | #422 | 0.27 |
| 1961 | 569 | #409 | 0.28 |
| 1960 | 520 | #429 | 0.26 |
| 1959 | 514 | #416 | 0.25 |
| 1958 | 514 | #410 | 0.26 |
| 1957 | 546 | #389 | 0.27 |
| 1956 | 535 | #385 | 0.27 |
| 1955 | 559 | #371 | 0.29 |
| 1954 | 589 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1953 | 609 | #335 | 0.32 |
| 1952 | 605 | #334 | 0.33 |
| 1951 | 627 | #315 | 0.35 |
| 1950 | 634 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1949 | 628 | #310 | 0.37 |
| 1948 | 734 | #283 | 0.43 |
| 1947 | 706 | #296 | 0.40 |
| 1946 | 697 | #276 | 0.44 |
| 1945 | 724 | #251 | 0.55 |
| 1944 | 725 | #247 | 0.55 |
| 1943 | 776 | #248 | 0.56 |
| 1942 | 785 | #243 | 0.58 |
| 1941 | 795 | #219 | 0.66 |
| 1940 | 797 | #216 | 0.70 |
| 1939 | 764 | #219 | 0.70 |
| 1938 | 858 | #202 | 0.78 |
| 1937 | 847 | #201 | 0.80 |
| 1936 | 891 | #195 | 0.86 |
| 1935 | 968 | #183 | 0.92 |
| 1934 | 1,076 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1933 | 1,089 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1932 | 1,255 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1931 | 1,302 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 1930 | 1,489 | #144 | 1.3 |
| 1929 | 1,626 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1928 | 1,803 | #131 | 1.6 |
| 1927 | 1,987 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1926 | 2,143 | #123 | 1.8 |
| 1925 | 2,235 | #124 | 1.8 |
| 1924 | 2,410 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1923 | 2,520 | #108 | 2.1 |
| 1922 | 2,625 | #107 | 2.2 |
| 1921 | 2,710 | #104 | 2.2 |
| 1920 | 2,785 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1919 | 2,872 | #94 | 2.5 |
| 1918 | 2,937 | #93 | 2.5 |
| 1917 | 3,004 | #85 | 2.8 |
| 1916 | 2,869 | #85 | 2.7 |
| 1915 | 2,927 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1914 | 2,259 | #75 | 3.0 |
| 1913 | 1,973 | #73 | 3.2 |
| 1912 | 1,903 | #72 | 3.4 |
| 1911 | 1,449 | #70 | 3.5 |
| 1910 | 1,431 | #66 | 3.6 |
| 1909 | 1,295 | #65 | 3.7 |
| 1908 | 1,331 | #64 | 4.0 |
| 1907 | 1,238 | #64 | 3.9 |
| 1906 | 1,206 | #61 | 4.1 |
| 1905 | 1,258 | #61 | 4.3 |
| 1904 | 1,228 | #57 | 4.5 |
| 1903 | 1,200 | #56 | 4.6 |
| 1902 | 1,225 | #56 | 4.6 |
| 1901 | 1,216 | #51 | 5.1 |
| 1900 | 1,506 | #52 | 5.0 |
| 1899 | 1,159 | #49 | 5.0 |
| 1898 | 1,320 | #49 | 5.1 |
| 1897 | 1,239 | #50 | 5.3 |
| 1896 | 1,318 | #48 | 5.5 |
| 1895 | 1,289 | #50 | 5.5 |
| 1894 | 1,360 | #42 | 6.1 |
| 1893 | 1,261 | #46 | 5.9 |
| 1892 | 1,234 | #47 | 5.8 |
| 1891 | 1,174 | #45 | 6.3 |
| 1890 | 1,137 | #47 | 6.0 |
| 1889 | 1,096 | #45 | 6.1 |
| 1888 | 1,162 | #45 | 6.5 |
| 1887 | 1,004 | #42 | 6.9 |
| 1886 | 992 | #43 | 6.9 |
| 1885 | 876 | #44 | 6.6 |
| 1884 | 906 | #41 | 7.0 |
| 1883 | 800 | #42 | 7.1 |
| 1882 | 697 | #43 | 6.5 |
| 1881 | 555 | #50 | 6.0 |
| 1880 | 603 | #43 | 6.6 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lena has been given almost only to girls: 326 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lena, and how old are they?
52,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 36% of the 146,805 Americans ever recorded as Lena. The median Lena alive today is 33 years old; half are between 12 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 51,228 people named Lena (51,141 women and girls, 87 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 51,434 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,620 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,590 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 7,120 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,960 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 14,700 |
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 Lena born?
The states with the most babies named Lena are New York, Texas and Pennsylvania, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 9,663 | #234 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 6,939 | #460 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 6,894 | #135 | 0.9× |
| California | 6,499 | #376 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 5,117 | #339 | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 4,434 | #200 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 4,095 | #203 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 3,859 | #651 | 1.7× |
| Georgia | 3,838 | #634 | 1.1× |
| Kentucky | 3,672 | #253 | 1.4× |
Where Lena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lena is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Lena 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 310,299 babies since 1880, Lena is the most given (47% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,106 of their 2,611 babies (42%), again the most given.
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 Lena
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 Lena and names like it
- Compare Lena and LeonaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLena peaked in 1917.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lena since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Lena: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1917The year the most babies were named Lena.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Lena alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.