Nena
Nena was last recorded in 2024, when 11 babies were given it; 4,896 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,470 Americans named Nena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (71% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 37 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nena mean?
Wiktionary, German section
Nena is “a female given name from Spanish” Its etymology gives the sense “girl” (nena).
Popularized by the singer Nena, from Spanish nena (“girl”).
/ˈneːna/
Meaning: Wiktionary, German section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nena?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #9,383, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
112 babies in 1963, the peak
Nena peaked in 1963, when 112 girls were given it, #1,008 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11 | #9,383 | 6.8 |
| 2023 | 12 | #8,831 | 7.5 |
| 2022 | 12 | #8,899 | 7.3 |
| 2021 | 9 | #10,884 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | 14 | #8,027 | 8.3 |
| 2018 | 14 | #8,037 | 8.2 |
| 2017 | 19 | #6,460 | 11.0 |
| 2016 | 20 | #6,347 | 11.3 |
| 2015 | 12 | #9,336 | 6.7 |
| 2014 | 17 | #7,220 | 9.5 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 23 | #5,782 | 13.1 |
| 2012 | 23 | #5,843 | 13.1 |
| 2011 | 22 | #6,088 | 12.5 |
| 2010 | 27 | #5,206 | 15.2 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,663 | 13.6 |
| 2008 | 26 | #5,537 | 13.7 |
| 2007 | 37 | #4,188 | 19.2 |
| 2006 | 27 | #5,185 | 14.2 |
| 2005 | 37 | #3,922 | 20.0 |
| 2004 | 40 | #3,673 | 21.8 |
| 2003 | 23 | #5,356 | 12.6 |
| 2002 | 38 | #3,567 | 21.1 |
| 2001 | 31 | #4,079 | 17.2 |
| 2000 | 32 | #3,950 | 17.6 |
| 1999 | 30 | #3,937 | 16.9 |
| 1998 | 27 | #4,204 | 15.3 |
| 1997 | 34 | #3,422 | 19.5 |
| 1996 | 36 | #3,278 | 20.5 |
| 1995 | 31 | #3,556 | 17.6 |
| 1994 | 32 | #3,503 | 17.9 |
| 1993 | 30 | #3,646 | 16.6 |
| 1992 | 33 | #3,388 | 17.9 |
| 1991 | 34 | #3,265 | 18.1 |
| 1990 | 35 | #3,198 | 18.4 |
| 1989 | 39 | #2,844 | 21.2 |
| 1988 | 45 | #2,425 | 25.3 |
| 1987 | 47 | #2,297 | 27.0 |
| 1986 | 53 | #2,044 | 30.9 |
| 1985 | 52 | #2,068 | 30.2 |
| 1984 | 108 | #1,213 | 64.1 |
| 1983 | 45 | #2,182 | 26.9 |
| 1982 | 71 | #1,632 | 41.9 |
| 1981 | 74 | #1,586 | 44.4 |
| 1980 | 106 | #1,241 | 63.8 |
| 1979 | 48 | #2,104 | 29.9 |
| 1978 | 31 | #2,724 | 20.2 |
| 1977 | 29 | #2,817 | 18.9 |
| 1976 | 54 | #1,766 | 36.9 |
| 1975 | 51 | #1,827 | 35.0 |
| 1974 | 42 | #2,019 | 28.6 |
| 1973 | 61 | #1,540 | 41.8 |
| 1972 | 47 | #1,823 | 30.9 |
| 1971 | 48 | #1,846 | 28.8 |
| 1970 | 47 | #1,872 | 26.9 |
| 1969 | 56 | #1,603 | 33.2 |
| 1968 | 60 | #1,466 | 36.6 |
| 1967 | 57 | #1,487 | 34.5 |
| 1966 | 65 | #1,362 | 38.4 |
| 1965 | 86 | #1,154 | 48.7 |
| 1964 | 89 | #1,170 | 47.0 |
| 1963 | 112 | #1,008 | 58.1 |
| 1962 | 96 | #1,112 | 48.8 |
| 1961 | 72 | #1,314 | 35.7 |
| 1960 | 85 | #1,183 | 42.0 |
| 1959 | 91 | #1,122 | 45.0 |
| 1958 | 95 | #1,078 | 47.2 |
| 1957 | 104 | #1,030 | 50.9 |
| 1956 | 85 | #1,126 | 42.3 |
| 1955 | 96 | #1,028 | 49.1 |
| 1954 | 104 | #949 | 53.6 |
| 1953 | 68 | #1,174 | 36.1 |
| 1952 | 65 | #1,181 | 35.1 |
| 1951 | 73 | #1,094 | 40.5 |
| 1950 | 46 | #1,357 | 26.9 |
| 1949 | 28 | #1,832 | 16.4 |
| 1948 | 36 | #1,567 | 21.2 |
| 1947 | 50 | #1,296 | 28.2 |
| 1946 | 34 | #1,523 | 21.6 |
| 1945 | 27 | #1,610 | 20.7 |
| 1944 | 27 | #1,594 | 20.3 |
| 1943 | 31 | #1,515 | 22.2 |
| 1942 | 29 | #1,550 | 21.5 |
| 1941 | 26 | #1,565 | 21.5 |
| 1940 | 20 | #1,830 | 17.5 |
| 1939 | 32 | #1,321 | 29.2 |
| 1938 | 19 | #1,854 | 17.2 |
| 1937 | 20 | #1,771 | 18.8 |
| 1936 | 23 | #1,579 | 22.1 |
| 1935 | 15 | #2,182 | 14.3 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,537 | 23.0 |
| 1933 | 18 | #1,890 | 17.9 |
| 1932 | 31 | #1,339 | 29.0 |
| 1931 | 21 | #1,725 | 19.7 |
| 1930 | 21 | #1,792 | 18.7 |
| 1929 | 26 | #1,547 | 23.3 |
| 1928 | 30 | #1,457 | 26.0 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,659 | 21.8 |
| 1926 | 26 | #1,650 | 21.9 |
| 1925 | 25 | #1,734 | 20.5 |
| 1924 | 30 | #1,554 | 24.0 |
| 1923 | 33 | #1,422 | 27.4 |
| 1922 | 40 | #1,243 | 33.3 |
| 1921 | 31 | #1,505 | 25.1 |
| 1920 | 25 | #1,689 | 20.9 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,475 | 25.7 |
| 1918 | 27 | #1,561 | 23.3 |
| 1917 | 29 | #1,395 | 26.8 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,783 | 19.2 |
| 1915 | 31 | #1,278 | 31.5 |
| 1914 | 19 | #1,522 | 24.9 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,139 | 38.4 |
| 1912 | 19 | #1,242 | 34.0 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,518 | 26.3 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,726 | 22.7 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,907 | 20.2 |
| 1908 | 13 | #1,182 | 38.9 |
| 1907 | 9 | #1,477 | 28.3 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,676 | 23.7 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,502 | 27.4 |
| 1904 | 12 | #1,082 | 43.6 |
| 1903 | 11 | #1,121 | 42.0 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,733 | 22.7 |
| 1901 | 8 | #1,299 | 33.4 |
| 1900 | 16 | #959 | 53.4 |
| 1899 | 13 | #928 | 55.8 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,465 | 27.1 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,142 | 38.4 |
| 1896 | 13 | #938 | 54.6 |
| 1895 | 12 | #969 | 51.4 |
| 1894 | 13 | #889 | 58.3 |
| 1893 | 15 | #785 | 70.5 |
| 1892 | 13 | #852 | 61.2 |
| 1891 | 8 | #1,071 | 43.1 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,475 | 26.3 |
| 1889 | 6 | #1,231 | 33.6 |
| 1888 | 13 | #746 | 72.8 |
| 1887 | 8 | #920 | 54.8 |
| 1886 | 10 | #761 | 69.2 |
| 1884 | 8 | #835 | 62.0 |
| 1883 | 5 | #1,013 | 44.5 |
| 1882 | 9 | #662 | 83.5 |
| 1881 | 6 | #799 | 65.3 |
| 1880 | 8 | #663 | 87.9 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 143 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Nena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nena, and how old are they?
3,470 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 71% of the 4,896 Americans ever recorded as Nena. The median Nena alive today is 53 years old; half are between 37 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 4,608 people named Nena (4,559 women and girls, 49 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,640 born in the U.S. The Census count is 27% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 134 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,140 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 822 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 742 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 474 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 162 |
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 Nena born?
The states with the most babies named Nena are California, Texas and Illinois, with 60% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 345 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Texas | 287 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 92 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Georgia | 61 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 56 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Michigan | 45 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| North Carolina | 44 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Alabama | 42 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Tennessee | 39 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 36 | not ranked | 0.3× |
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 Nena 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 12,822 babies since 1880, Nena is the most given (38% of them). In 2025 none of their 66 babies recorded by SSA was a Nena (SSA lists a name only with 5 or more babies of one sex).
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 Nena
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 Nena and names like it
- Compare Nena and NehaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sNena peaked in 1963.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nena since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Nena: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1963The year the most babies were named Nena.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nena alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.