Zena
Zena was given to 73 girls in 2025, #2,457 among girls’ names; 5,986 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,320 Americans named Zena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 36 years old and half are between 17 and 60.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Zena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Zena?
#2,457 among girls’ names, 2025
Zena rose from #3,000 in 2015 to #2,457 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 32.5 to 45.4 per million.
222 babies in 1964, the peak
Zena peaked in 1964, when 222 girls were given it, #691 among girls’ names. The 73 births of 2025 are 33% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 | #2,457 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 82 | #2,281 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 87 | #2,194 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 90 | #2,141 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 84 | #2,230 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 83 | #2,195 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 90 | #2,108 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 74 | #2,437 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 82 | #2,282 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 50 | #3,279 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 58 | #3,000 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 56 | #3,038 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 46 | #3,461 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 48 | #3,417 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 40 | #3,837 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 41 | #3,814 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 33 | #4,569 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 39 | #4,084 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 44 | #3,719 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 33 | #4,459 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 47 | #3,312 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 40 | #3,684 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 40 | #3,585 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 45 | #3,191 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 46 | #3,086 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 44 | #3,164 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 78 | #2,014 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 88 | #1,785 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 104 | #1,559 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 127 | #1,340 | 0.07 |
| 1995 | 59 | #2,276 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 71 | #1,992 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 44 | #2,762 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 52 | #2,482 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 49 | #2,543 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 63 | #2,095 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 71 | #1,867 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 33 | #3,089 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 51 | #2,153 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 44 | #2,342 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 62 | #1,831 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 38 | #2,512 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 47 | #2,133 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 58 | #1,872 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 54 | #1,984 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 51 | #2,068 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 24 | #3,440 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,938 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 24 | #3,265 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 36 | #2,333 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 25 | #2,968 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 32 | #2,432 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 39 | #2,093 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 39 | #2,056 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 45 | #1,936 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 51 | #1,780 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 43 | #1,926 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 63 | #1,434 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 69 | #1,323 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 104 | #1,016 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 142 | #838 | 0.08 |
| 1964 | 222 | #691 | 0.12 |
| 1963 | 213 | #694 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 70 | #1,331 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 63 | #1,418 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 52 | #1,559 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 39 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 26 | #2,258 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 41 | #1,703 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 30 | #2,003 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 27 | #2,106 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 23 | #2,293 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 22 | #2,298 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 20 | #2,409 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 34 | #1,663 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 21 | #2,183 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 18 | #2,407 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 29 | #1,776 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 21 | #2,197 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 12 | #3,031 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 14 | #2,456 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 23 | #1,805 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 15 | #2,444 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 35 | #1,386 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 21 | #1,808 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 19 | #1,898 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 13 | #2,415 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 16 | #2,111 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 16 | #2,100 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 20 | #1,740 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 21 | #1,719 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,555 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 35 | #1,223 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 31 | #1,345 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 26 | #1,499 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 27 | #1,533 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 43 | #1,136 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 27 | #1,586 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 36 | #1,360 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 41 | #1,219 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 48 | #1,118 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 39 | #1,300 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 48 | #1,110 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 43 | #1,188 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 62 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 45 | #1,131 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 31 | #1,422 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 53 | #998 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 37 | #1,204 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 46 | #1,025 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 40 | #1,074 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 35 | #1,022 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 31 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 27 | #1,002 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 26 | #852 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 21 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 21 | #908 | 0.06 |
| 1908 | 13 | #1,202 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 14 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 19 | #870 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 21 | #824 | 0.07 |
| 1904 | 15 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 8 | #1,438 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 11 | #1,132 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 12 | #1,006 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 21 | #832 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 10 | #1,097 | 0.04 |
| 1898 | 18 | #819 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 16 | #825 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 9 | #1,211 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 13 | #930 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 14 | #848 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 13 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 16 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 16 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,095 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 12 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 8 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,145 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 8 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 11 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1883 | 13 | #560 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 6 | #906 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 6 | #827 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 7 | #736 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Zena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Zena has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 145 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Zena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Zena, and how old are they?
4,320 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 5,986 Americans ever recorded as Zena. The median Zena alive today is 36 years old; half are between 17 and 60.
The 2020 Census counted 4,465 people named Zena (4,395 women and girls, 70 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,030 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% 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 | 112 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 812 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 747 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 898 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 801 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 949 |
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 Zena born?
The states with the most babies named Zena are California, New York and Texas, with 62% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 492 | #2,761 | 0.9× |
| New York | 489 | #2,067 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 242 | #2,917 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 118 | #1,683 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 95 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 88 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 76 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| New Jersey | 72 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| North Carolina | 56 | #1,681 | 0.3× |
| Georgia | 43 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Zena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Zena is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.1 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 Zena 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 10,995 babies since 1880, Zena is the most given (54% of them). In 2025 it was given to 73 of their 240 babies (30%), the second most given that year.
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 Zena
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Nina | 134,038 |
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 Zena and names like it
- Compare Zena and ZeniaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sZena peaked in 1964.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Zena since 1910.
- The top names of 1964The year the most babies were named Zena.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Zena alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with ZMost given first.