Lenna
Lenna was the 1761st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 115 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 337th; the most babies were born in 2024 (131). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,807 places. More babies were named Lenna in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Lena) short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names · German, Scandinavian, Italian
- Rank in 2025
- #1,761 girls, up 16 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 115girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024131 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,373babies recorded
What does the name Lenna mean?
Lenna is a spelling of Lena, pronounced the same way, so it shares Lena's meaning and origin.
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
Lenna popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,761 | 115 |
| 2020 | #1,777 | 112 |
| 2010 | #4,552 | 32 |
| 2000 | #7,836 | 13 |
| 1990 | #6,318 | 14 |
| 1980 | #6,141 | 11 |
| 1970 | #5,623 | 9 |
| 1960 | #2,690 | 21 |
| 1950 | #1,440 | 41 |
| 1940 | #1,869 | 19 |
| 1930 | #1,308 | 34 |
| 1920 | #1,081 | 48 |
| 1910 | #905 | 23 |
| 1900 | #715 | 26 |
| 1890 | #513 | 26 |
| 1880 | #337 | 23 |
How popular is Lenna, counting every spelling?
Lenna is a spelling of Lena, a name family that ranked #177 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,761 for Lenna 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 Lenna?
115 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lenna (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lenna 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 73 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lenna.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lenna?
About 2,400 people born in the US named Lenna are alive today, with a median age of 19; half are between 6 and 58. That makes Lenna mostly worn by children and young adults. 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.
Lenna by state
How common Lenna was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (4.0×). In 35 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lenna: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lenna, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Lenna
What does Lenna mean?
Lenna is a spelling of Lena, which means “short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names” (German, Scandinavian, Italian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lenna?
Lenna was the 1761st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 115 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 337th; the most babies were born in 2024 (131). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,807 places. More babies were named Lenna in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Lenna a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lenna in the US.
Where is Lenna most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lenna was most common in Minnesota (0.27 per 1,000 girls), followed by Wisconsin and Utah.