Winona
Winona was given to 466 girls in 2025, #627 among girls’ names; 12,953 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,000 Americans named Winona and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (46% of everyone recorded); the median is 45 years old and half are between 5 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Winona by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Winona mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Winona is “a female given name from Dakota, used mainly in the United States.” Its etymology gives the sense “firstborn daughter” (winúŋna).
From Dakota winúŋna (“firstborn daughter”). While not originally used as a personal name by the Dakota, it has been adopted as such by English speakers. John Koontz suggested that the name was a compound of wi- (“female”) + no (“first”) + -na (a diminutive suffix) and thus a reflex of Proto-Siouan *rǫ/*nǫ (“one”). That root is otherwise unattested in the Sioux languages, which use reflexes of *wį(y)ą (“one”) instead, and a more prosaic analysis identifies the first elements of the name with winyan (“woman”).
/wɪˈnoʊnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Winona?
#627 among girls’ names, 2025
Winona rose from #4,065 in 2015 to #627 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.02 to 0.29 per 1,000.
466 babies in 2025, the peak
Winona peaked in 2025, when 466 girls were given it, #627 among girls’ names. In 2024 it went to 384 girls.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 466 | #627 | 0.29 |
| 2024 | 384 | #734 | 0.24 |
| 2023 | 306 | #880 | 0.19 |
| 2022 | 273 | #977 | 0.17 |
| 2021 | 175 | #1,300 | 0.11 |
| 2020 | 154 | #1,421 | 0.10 |
| 2019 | 127 | #1,666 | 0.08 |
| 2018 | 96 | #2,047 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 77 | #2,382 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 69 | #2,592 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 37 | #4,065 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 37 | #4,095 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 33 | #4,414 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 34 | #4,379 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 20 | #6,548 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 20 | #6,622 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 16 | #8,032 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 15 | #8,499 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 25 | #5,697 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 22 | #6,114 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 16 | #7,476 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 17 | #7,062 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 16 | #7,190 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 22 | #5,437 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 18 | #6,304 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 28 | #4,390 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 27 | #4,303 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 27 | #4,233 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 20 | #5,219 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 29 | #3,823 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,772 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 39 | #3,032 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 29 | #3,766 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 56 | #2,344 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 50 | #2,511 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 34 | #3,291 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 25 | #4,007 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,311 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 30 | #3,163 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,747 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 23 | #3,726 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 15 | #4,962 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 27 | #3,148 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 21 | #3,895 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 38 | #2,528 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 37 | #2,602 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 34 | #2,669 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 34 | #2,571 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 38 | #2,380 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 53 | #1,792 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 46 | #1,962 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 48 | #1,847 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 57 | #1,620 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 60 | #1,563 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 63 | #1,559 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,857 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 50 | #1,726 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 54 | #1,574 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 60 | #1,440 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 73 | #1,272 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 73 | #1,262 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 78 | #1,253 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 79 | #1,240 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 91 | #1,150 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 78 | #1,258 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 90 | #1,154 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 80 | #1,201 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 105 | #1,016 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 115 | #968 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 121 | #922 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 105 | #976 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 100 | #976 | 0.05 |
| 1953 | 95 | #986 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 113 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 104 | #889 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 119 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 100 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 94 | #902 | 0.06 |
| 1947 | 119 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 90 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 99 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 92 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 108 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1942 | 109 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 136 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 129 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 127 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1938 | 170 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1937 | 172 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 167 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 173 | #480 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 199 | #460 | 0.19 |
| 1933 | 209 | #451 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 198 | #467 | 0.19 |
| 1931 | 252 | #407 | 0.24 |
| 1930 | 221 | #454 | 0.20 |
| 1929 | 189 | #489 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 223 | #464 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 230 | #461 | 0.19 |
| 1926 | 224 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1925 | 270 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1924 | 289 | #407 | 0.23 |
| 1923 | 257 | #418 | 0.21 |
| 1922 | 261 | #408 | 0.22 |
| 1921 | 265 | #415 | 0.21 |
| 1920 | 222 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1919 | 188 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1918 | 223 | #445 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 200 | #457 | 0.18 |
| 1916 | 219 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 192 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1914 | 139 | #465 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 120 | #456 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 108 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1911 | 63 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 65 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1909 | 58 | #495 | 0.17 |
| 1908 | 51 | #510 | 0.15 |
| 1907 | 34 | #648 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 49 | #498 | 0.17 |
| 1905 | 35 | #599 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 32 | #611 | 0.12 |
| 1903 | 42 | #495 | 0.16 |
| 1902 | 29 | #621 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 28 | #602 | 0.12 |
| 1900 | 18 | #916 | 0.06 |
| 1899 | 20 | #727 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 30 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1897 | 22 | #680 | 0.09 |
| 1896 | 25 | #633 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 20 | #724 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 22 | #642 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 20 | #660 | 0.09 |
| 1892 | 20 | #665 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 13 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 14 | #756 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 14 | #721 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 16 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1887 | 14 | #632 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 9 | #825 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 14 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 6 | #1,021 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 9 | #691 | 0.08 |
| 1882 | 9 | #675 | 0.08 |
| 1881 | 11 | #537 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 6 | #833 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Winona a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Winona has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Winona: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Winona, and how old are they?
6,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 46% of the 12,953 Americans ever recorded as Winona. The median Winona alive today is 45 years old; half are between 5 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 4,829 people named Winona (4,820 women and girls, 9 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,136 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 743 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,440 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 765 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 461 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 339 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,220 |
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 Winona born?
The states with the most babies named Winona are California, Ohio and Texas, with 23% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 36 | #828 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 30 | #388 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 29 | #1,005 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 23 | #393 | 0.8× |
| New York | 22 | #755 | 0.3× |
| Wisconsin | 22 | #252 | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 20 | #513 | 0.7× |
| Washington | 18 | #412 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 17 | #614 | 0.5× |
| Minnesota | 17 | #343 | 0.4× |
Where Winona is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Winona is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 7.1 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 Winona 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 20,084 babies since 1880, Winona is the most given (64% of them). In 2025 it was given to 466 of their 603 babies (77%), 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 Winona
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 Winona and names like it
- Compare Winona and WynonaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sWinona peaked in 2025.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Winona since 1910.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Winona.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Winona alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with WMost given first.