Serena
Serena was the 325th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 942 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 209th with 1,504 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 85 places. More babies were named Serena in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning clear, serene · Latin
Say it suh-REE-nuh /səˈrinə/
- Rank in 2025
- #325 girls, up 98 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 942girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20001,504 babies
- Total since 1880
- 47,466babies recorded
What does the name Serena mean?
Serena comes from Latin serena, the feminine of serenus, "clear, calm, serene", used of a cloudless sky. DMNES records it in France in 814 and in Spain in the 1480s, and Wiktionary notes an early Christian saint of the name. Edmund Spenser used it in The Faerie Queene. The tennis player Serena Williams made it widely known in the US.
serenus (Latin, “clear, calm, serene”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Serenity, Sirena.
See also: Latin names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Serena', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Serena', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Serena
The usual nicknames for Serena are Rena. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Serena in the last five years, 9 were named Rena, against 10 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rena · also for Irene | Traditional | #2,402 | 387 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Serenas go by each one.
Serena popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 16 since 1970.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #325 | 942 |
| 2020 | #423 | 725 |
| 2010 | #449 | 687 |
| 2000 | #209 | 1,504 |
| 1990 | #505 | 477 |
| 1980 | #372 | 630 |
| 1970 | #374 | 639 |
| 1960 | #1,006 | 115 |
| 1950 | #1,107 | 70 |
| 1940 | #962 | 56 |
| 1930 | #1,529 | 27 |
| 1920 | #1,047 | 51 |
| 1910 | #779 | 31 |
| 1900 | #638 | 31 |
| 1890 | #721 | 15 |
| 1880 | #489 | 13 |
How popular is Serena, counting every spelling?
Serena is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #347 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #325 for Serena on its own. Together these spellings went to 953 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serena | 942 | #325 | 4,329 |
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 Serena?
942 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Serena (0.26 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Serena 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 9 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Serena.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Serena?
About 44,300 people born in the US named Serena are alive today, with a median age of 26; half are between 15 and 41. That makes Serena mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Serena by state
How common Serena was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Connecticut (2.8×), New Jersey (2.2×), Nevada (2.1×), Massachusetts (1.9×), New York (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Serena: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Serena, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Serena · Sibling names for Serena
Questions about the name Serena
What does Serena mean?
Serena means “clear, serene” (Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Serena?
Serena was the 325th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 942 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 209th with 1,504 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 85 places. More babies were named Serena in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Serena a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Serena in the US.
Where is Serena most popular?
In 2021–2025, Serena was most common in Connecticut (1.50 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Jersey and Nevada.