Lena
Lena was the 279th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,106 babies. Its best year was 1884, when it ranked 41st; the most babies were born in 1917 (3,004). Over the last ten years it has moved down 6 places. More babies were named Lena in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names · German, Scandinavian, Italian
Say it LEE-nuh /ˈlinə/
- Rank in 2025
- #279 girls, down 8 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,106girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19173,004 babies
- Total since 1880
- 146,805babies recorded
What does the name Lena mean?
Lena began as a pet form of longer names ending in -lena or -line. Wiktionary points to Helena, Magdalena and Russian Yelena; DMNES, which records Lena in Germany in 1408 and Italy in 1367, sees it as a short form of names such as Adeline or Emmeline. Because it can stand for several names, it has no single meaning of its own. It has been used as an independent name in the US since the 19th century.
How sure is this? Well established. Lena is clearly a pet form, but sources differ on which longer names it comes from.
Related names: Helena, Magdalena, Lina, Leena.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lena', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Lena', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Lena popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 326 since 1888.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #279 | 1,106 |
| 2020 | #271 | 1,143 |
| 2010 | #376 | 842 |
| 2000 | #546 | 477 |
| 1990 | #525 | 453 |
| 1980 | #434 | 499 |
| 1970 | #435 | 507 |
| 1960 | #429 | 520 |
| 1950 | #309 | 634 |
| 1940 | #216 | 797 |
| 1930 | #144 | 1,489 |
| 1920 | #98 | 2,785 |
| 1910 | #66 | 1,431 |
| 1900 | #52 | 1,506 |
| 1890 | #47 | 1,137 |
| 1880 | #43 | 603 |
How popular is Lena, counting every spelling?
Lena is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #177 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #279 for Lena on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,968 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lena | 1,106 | #279 | 5,792 |
| Lina | 527 | #572 | 2,529 |
| Leena | 212 | #1,115 | 1,074 |
| Lenna | 115 | #1,761 | 548 |
| Leenah | 8 | #11,493 | 38 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Lena?
1,106 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lena (0.31 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lena born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lena.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lena?
About 52,100 people born in the US named Lena are alive today, with a median age of 33; half are between 12 and 62. That makes Lena mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Lena by state
How common Lena was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (3.4×), South Dakota (2.5×), New Hampshire (2.5×), Pennsylvania (2.4×), Michigan (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, Idaho, Hawaii.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lena: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lena, they share its era and feel.
Lena is also a nickname for Elena, Helen, Helena and Magdalena.
Questions about the name Lena
What does Lena mean?
Lena means “short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names” (German, Scandinavian, Italian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lena?
Lena was the 279th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,106 babies. Its best year was 1884, when it ranked 41st; the most babies were born in 1917 (3,004). Over the last ten years it has moved down 6 places. More babies were named Lena in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Lena a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lena in the US.
Where is Lena most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lena was most common in District of Columbia (2.45 per 1,000 girls), followed by South Dakota and New Hampshire.