girl's name
Serena
suh-REE-nuh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 67,968
the United States
#325
2025 births
Serena has the most evenly spread ranking on this site — Scotland 298th, Ireland 310th, the United States 325th, France 330th and England and Wales 381st, five markets inside 83 places of each other.
- Serena is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2000, when 1,504 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,519 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Serena 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 | 141 |
| 1890s | 184 |
| 1900s | 218 |
| 1910s | 359 |
| 1920s | 406 |
| 1930s | 354 |
| 1940s | 595 |
| 1950s | 1,055 |
| 1960s | 2,568 |
| 1970s | 4,849 |
| 1980s | 5,274 |
| 1990s | 8,444 |
| 2000s | 10,634 |
| 2010s | 7,331 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,054 |
What Serena means
Serena means calm, clear or tranquil. The Latin serenus describes weather without cloud before it describes a person, so the sense begins with a clear sky.
Where Serena comes from
Serena is the Latin serena, the feminine of serenus — clear, fair, cloudless. The word described weather first and temperament second, which is why serene still carries a sense of stillness rather than merely calm, and why a serenade began as evening music under a clear sky. Saint Serena is traditionally named as the wife of Diocletian, the emperor who persecuted Christians, which would be a considerable irony if the tradition held up.
Serena in use
Serena peaked in the United States in 2000, when 1,504 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in six of the seven markets we track and more evenly than any other name on this site — 186th in Canada, 298th in Scotland on 12 births, 310th in Ireland on 13, 325th in the United States on 942, 330th in France on 275 and 381st in England and Wales on 111. That is a spread of 83 places, narrower than Selena's 86 and the tightest seven-market figure we record.
How popular is Serena?
In 2025, Serena was given to 942 babies in the United States, ranking #325 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Serena 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 Serena is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Séréna | Séréna is Serena written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #496. | 6,495 |
| Sérena | Sérena is Serena written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,989. | 110 |
| Sérèna | Sérèna is a rare spelling of Serena, written with an acute accent and recorded about 55 times, mostly in France. | 55 |
Names that peaked alongside Serena
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Serena also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Serena over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Serena
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Serena 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 Serena
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Serena — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Serena
What does the name Serena mean?
Calm or clear — the Latin serenus, which described cloudless weather before it described people.
Is Serena the same as Selena?
No. Selena is the Greek for the moon; Serena is Latin for serene. They are unrelated.
Is serenade related?
Yes — evening music, from the same root as a clear evening sky.
Where is Serena used?
Five markets inside 83 places of each other — the most evenly spread name on this site.
How popular is the name Serena?
In 2025, Serena was given to 942 babies in the United States, ranking #325 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Serena a girl's or a boy's name?
Serena is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Serena?
Serena has 3 syllables.
When was Serena most popular?
Serena peaked in 2000, when 1,504 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Serena?
Serena is usually shortened to Rena and Sera.
Is Serena a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Serena currently ranks #186 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.