Lena
Top 1000
About Lena
This pet form of Helena and other ena-ending names, long used as an independent name, is attracting notice again as an option both multicultural and simple. Lena was a Top 100 name from 1880 to 1920.
A past inspiration might be the lovely singer Lena Horne, a contemporary one is the hot creator of and actress in Girls, Lena Dunham, another might be Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey.
Lena Grove is a simple but strong character in William Faulkner's Light in August.
Pronounced LAY-nuh.
As of October 2026, Lena ranked #279 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #41 in 1884, Nameberry popularity #382.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #280 | 1,168 | 653.8 |
| 2015 | #273 | 1,162 | 650.9 |
| 2016 | #275 | 1,144 | 645.6 |
| 2017 | #303 | 1,082 | 626.7 |
| 2018 | #302 | 1,102 | 647.8 |
| 2019 | #267 | 1,246 | 742.4 |
| 2020 | #271 | 1,143 | 707.1 |
| 2021 | #294 | 1,091 | 664.9 |
| 2022 | #254 | 1,219 | 743.2 |
| 2023 | #270 | 1,157 | 721.1 |
| 2024 | #263 | 1,211 | 747.4 |
| 2025 | #279 | 1,106 | 688.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
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- Vivienne
- Adele
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- Gwen
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Lena on lists
Famous Lenas
- Lena Dunham
American actress and filmmaker
- Lena Headey
English actress
- Lena Mary Calhoun Horne
American actress and singer
- Lena Meyer
Landrut, German singer
- Lena Yada
Japanese,American pro wrestler
- Lena Zavaroni
Scottish singer
- Elena Sergeevna "Lena" Katina
Russian singer of group t.A.T.u
- Lena Waithe
American actress, producer and screenwriter
- Lena Elizabeth Tindall (b. 2018)
daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall; granddaughter of Princess Anne
Lena in pop culture
- Lena the Hyena
character from the "Li'l Abner" universe
- Lena Sayers
character in the anime "My,Otome"
- Lena Kaligaris
character in Ann Brashares's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
- Lena Grove
character in "Light in August" by William Faulkner
- Lena Leonard
character in movie "Punch,Drunk Love"
- Lena Duchannes
character in Caster Chronicles & Beautiful Creatures series
- Lena St. Clair
character in Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club"
- Lena
character in movie "Blue Crush"
- Lena Luthor
character in DC Comics and CW show "Supergirl"
- Lena Adams Foster
a lead character on TV's "The Fosters"
- Magdelena "Lena" Ella Haloway Tiddle
main character in "Delirium" trilogy by Lauren Oliver
- Lena
stereotypical Scandinavian in "Ole and Lena" jokes
- Lena Pearce
character in the game "Watch Dogs"
- Lena "Tracer" Oxton
character in the game "Overwatch"
- Lena Adams
character in the "Will Trent" series by Karin Slaughter
- Lena
character in "DuckTales"
- Lena
character in ABC's "Splitting Up Together"
- Lena
also known as Ghost Bird, character in "Southern Reach" series
- Lena Lingard
character in Willa Cather's "My Ántonia"
- Lena Kelley
character in podcast "The Magnus Protocol"
Variations & nicknames
- LeniDutch