Lena
Meaning of Lena
Lena is a contracted, pan-European diminutive—principally of Helena, Magdalena, or names ending in -lina—that traces its deepest linguistic stratum to the Greek Ἑλένη, “torch” or “light,” while receiving sustained cultural currency through German and Slavic usage, where it is articulated as LAY-nah, and through Anglo-American usage, where the prevailing pronunciation is LEE-nə. The name’s semantic association with brightness has encouraged repeated, if moderate, adoption in the United States: archival vital-statistics data show a high-water mark of 77th place in 1915, a long mid-century recession, and a measured resurgence beginning in the late 1990s, stabilizing near rank 250 in the most recent decade. This statistical profile aligns with Lena’s historical positioning: familiar enough to feel established, yet insufficiently common to lose individual distinctiveness. Contemporary cultural referents—from jazz icon Lena Horne to actress Lena Headey—extend its cross-generational resonance, underscoring a subtle versatility that allows the name to migrate between artistic, academic, and professional spheres without semantic strain. As a result, Lena presents prospective parents with a succinct phonological footprint, an etymology anchored in the classical lexicon of “light,” and a demographic trajectory that balances recognizability against rarity, thereby supporting a choice that is both historically informed and pragmatically enduring.
Pronunciation
German
- Pronunced as LAY-nah (/ˈleɪna/)
English
- Pronunced as LEE-nuh (/ˈliːnə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Lena
| Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer who created and starred in HBO's Girls, won two Golden Globes, and became the first woman to win the DGA comedy directing award after her breakout film Tiny Furniture. |
| Lena Meyer-Landrut is a German singer who won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with Satellite, topped the German charts with her debut single and album, set a national record with three top five entries, and returned in 2011 to place tenth with Taken by a Stranger. |
| Lena Headey is a British actress best known for Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones and Queen Gorgo in 300, with multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. |
| Lena Horne was an American singer, actress, dancer, and civil rights activist whose career spanned over seven decades in film, television, and theater. |
| Lena Christ was a German writer. |
| Lena Machado, known as Hawaiis Songbird, was a pioneering Native Hawaiian singer, composer, and ukulele player celebrated for hai and kaona, a longtime Royal Hawaiian Band soloist and 1995 Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductee. |
| Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter who created The Chi, Boomerang, and Twenties, wrote and produced Queen and Slim, and serves as executive producer of the horror anthology Them. |
| Lena Ovchynnikova is a Ukrainian kickboxer and mixed martial artist competing at featherweight in kickboxing and flyweight in MMA. |
| Lena Ashwell was a British actress and theatre manager who pioneered large-scale entertainment for frontline troops in World War I and later founded the Lena Ashwell Players. |
| Lena Marquise is a Russian interdisciplinary performance and video artist based in Brooklyn, known since the early 2000s for provocative works that challenge conventional views of sexuality and ethics. |
| Lena Olin - Lena Maria Jonna Olin is a Swedish actress with Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Primetime Emmy nominations. |
| Lena Kellogg Sadler was an American physician and surgeon, an obstetrician, and a eugenicist who was a leader in womens health. |
| Lena Alekseevna Hades is a Russian artist, theorist, and writer. |
| Lena Frank Dick, a Washoe basket maker, was renowned for tight weaves and figurative designs, crafting primarily aesthetic rather than utilitarian baskets. |
| Lena Marianne Andersson is a Swedish singer who had early 1970s hits, was signed by Polar at 15 in 1971, sang backing vocals for ABBA, and performed a Benny and Bjorn song that placed third in the 1972 Swedish Eurovision selection. |
