# Lena (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lena/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “the large river”, “clay” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɛ.nə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 146,805 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 326 / 146,479 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,796, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

The female name is from the Scandinavian, German and Russian pet form of Helena, Magdalena and Yelena (also spelled Elena). The river in Yakutia is from Russian Лена (Lena), from Evenki Елюенэ (Jeljujenə, “the Large River”). Compare to Yakut Өлүөнэ (Ölüöne). (Norwegian river): Probably related to Old Norse leir (“clay”) (see the references). (Town in Toten): From Old Norse lein.

## What it means

Lena is grouped under river.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 901 | 360 |
| 2012 | 885 | 359 |
| 2013 | 982 | 331 |
| 2014 | 1,168 | 280 |
| 2015 | 1,162 | 273 |
| 2016 | 1,144 | 275 |
| 2017 | 1,084 | 303 |
| 2018 | 1,102 | 302 |
| 2019 | 1,246 | 267 |
| 2020 | 1,143 | 271 |
| 2021 | 1,091 | 294 |
| 2022 | 1,220 | 254 |
| 2023 | 1,157 | 270 |
| 2024 | 1,218 | 262 |
| 2025 | 1,106 | 279 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 12 | 2,379 |
| 1931 | 11 | 2,406 |
| 1932 | 12 | 2,264 |
| 1933 | 9 | 2,647 |
| 1935 | 6 | 3,470 |
| 1936 | 11 | 2,242 |
| 1937 | 5 | 3,818 |
| 1938 | 5 | 3,812 |
| 1940 | 10 | 2,416 |
| 1942 | 8 | 2,829 |
| 1943 | 5 | 3,830 |
| 1949 | 8 | 2,917 |
| 1953 | 5 | 4,123 |
| 1973 | 5 | 5,556 |
| 1975 | 6 | 5,177 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 360 | 151 |
| 2012 | 419 | 137 |
| 2013 | 427 | 128 |
| 2014 | 424 | 129 |
| 2015 | 421 | 134 |
| 2016 | 407 | 138 |
| 2017 | 352 | 158 |
| 2018 | 343 | 154 |
| 2019 | 302 | 169 |
| 2020 | 263 | 186 |
| 2021 | 229 | 218 |
| 2022 | 216 | 221 |
| 2023 | 172 | 260 |
| 2024 | 159 | 283 |
| 2025 | 158 | 288 |

## In other languages

- Danish: Lene
- Finnish: Leena
- Hungarian: Léna
- Polish: Lena
- Russian: Ле́на, Еле́на

## People named Lena

- Lena Headey, British actress (born 1973)
- Lena Horne, American singer, actress, dancer and activist (1917–2010)
- Lena Dunham, American writer, director, actress, and producer (born 1986)
- Lena Oberdorf, association football player (2001-)
- Lena Goeßling, German association football player
- Lena Waithe, American actress, producer, and screenwriter (born 1984)
- Lena Raine, American composer and producer (born 1984)
- Lena Stojković, Croatian taekwondo practitioner
- Lena Dürr, German alpine skier
- Lena Gercke, German model
- Lena Schöneborn, German modern pentathlete
- Lena Petermann, German footballer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.