girl's name
Lena
LAY-na
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 232,809
the United States
#279
2025 births
Lena is a girl's name used as a short form of Helena, Magdalena and Elena, so it usually carries the sense "light" or "torch." It ranks thirty-first in France and is reviving in the United States after peaking in 1917.
- Lena is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1917, when 3,015 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 2,998 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lena over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 8,699 |
| 1890s | 12,511 |
| 1900s | 12,727 |
| 1910s | 23,693 |
| 1920s | 22,931 |
| 1930s | 10,610 |
| 1940s | 7,398 |
| 1950s | 5,737 |
| 1960s | 5,193 |
| 1970s | 4,691 |
| 1980s | 4,583 |
| 1990s | 4,484 |
| 2000s | 6,097 |
| 2010s | 10,516 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,935 |
What Lena means
Lena means light or torch when read through Helena, from the Greek helene. Because it clips several different longer names, its meaning depends on which one a family has in mind, and it has no settled sense of its own.
Where Lena comes from
Lena is a short form rather than a name with a single root. It clips Helena and Elena, from the Greek helene, a torch, and also Magdalena, which is a place name meaning of Magdala. In the Slavic and Scandinavian languages it became an independent name early, and it is common in Germany, Sweden, Poland and Russia. Some reference works give an Arabic derivation from lina, a young palm tree, but that belongs to the separate name Lina and the two are frequently conflated. The French spelling Léna carries an acute accent, which is what distinguishes French usage from the international Lena.
Lena in use
Lena ranks thirty-first in France and is unusually even across our markets: 279 in the United States, 288 in England and Wales, 212 in Scotland, 270 in Ireland. Very few names in our data sit within a hundred places of themselves in five countries at once. Our American series shows a peak as far back as 1917 and a clear revival now, so it is an old name returning rather than a new one arriving.
How popular is Lena?
In 2025, Lena was given to 1,106 babies in the United States, ranking #279 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Lena is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Lena is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Léna | Léna is Lena written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #31 in France, against #409 for Lena. | 64,546 |
| Lèna | Lèna is a rare spelling of Lena, written with a grave accent and recorded about 120 times, mostly in France. | 120 |
| Lëna | Lëna is a rare spelling of Lena, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 50 times, mostly in France. | 50 |
Names that peaked alongside Lena
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lena also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lena over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lena in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Lena
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lena — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lena
What does the name Lena mean?
Usually "light" or "torch," through Helena. It is a short form of Helena, Elena and Magdalena.
Is Lena the same as Lina?
No, though they are often confused. Lina has a separate Arabic origin meaning a young palm tree.
Is Lena a full name?
In the Slavic and Scandinavian languages it became an independent name long ago, and it is registered as one across Europe.
How popular is Lena?
Thirty-first in France, and within a hundred places of that in the United States, England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Is Lena a girl's or a boy's name?
Lena is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lena?
Lena has 2 syllables.
Is Lena a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lena currently ranks #31 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.