Meaning of the nameLena

Lena is a female name, a short form of Helena and Magdalena; Helena comes from the Greek Helénē, of uncertain meaning.

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 4,379 people named Lena, the 3,009th most common name in Brazil. Their median age is 49, and the largest group was born in the 1970s. Proportionally, it is most common in Pará.

Meaning

The meaning of Lena is not known for certain. The sources consulted give no settled meaning for it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

People (2022): 4,379
Rank in Brazil: #3,009
Median age: 49 years
2010 Census: 4,989; people

Lena in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Lena, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1970s (871 people).

4,344 women 35 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Lena is most common

States with the highest share of people named Lena in the population, in the 2022 Census.

Pará 0.007%
Amazonas 0.004%
Espírito Santo 0.004%
Rio de Janeiro 0.003%
Maranhão 0.003%

All states

State	People	% of population
São Paulo	686	0.002%
Pará	567	0.007%
Rio de Janeiro	528	0.003%
Minas Gerais	382	0.002%
Rio Grande do Sul	241	0.002%
Bahia	198	0.001%
Maranhão	191	0.003%
Paraná	180	0.002%
Amazonas	166	0.004%
Ceará	165	0.002%
Espírito Santo	147	0.004%
Goiás	145	0.002%
Santa Catarina	122	0.002%
Distrito Federal	94	0.003%
Piauí	72	0.002%
Pernambuco	71	0.001%
Mato Grosso	65	0.002%
Rio Grande do Norte	62	0.002%
Amapá	57	0.008%
Mato Grosso do Sul	51	0.002%
Rondônia	39	0.003%
Roraima	33	0.005%
Paraíba	31	0.001%
Tocantins	29	0.002%
Sergipe	24	0.001%
Alagoas	23	0.001%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Lena

According to Behind the Name, Lena is a short form of names ending in -lena, such as Helena and Magdalena, and is also used as an independent given name. Wiktionary lists Lena among the terms derived from Helena in Portuguese. Behind the Name lists Lena among the Portuguese forms of Helen, from a Greek name whose meaning is uncertain: probably 'torch', or perhaps related to selene, 'moon'. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 4,379 people named Lena, with a median age of 49. Proportionally, it is most common in Pará.

Sources

Behind the Name: Lena · behindthename.com · origin
Behind the Name: Helen · behindthename.com · origin
Wiktionary: Lena · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Wiktionary: Helena · en.wiktionary.org · origin
IBGE, 2022 Census: Nomes no Brasil · censo2022.ibge.gov.br · usage

Questions about the name Lena

What does the name Lena mean?

The meaning of Lena is not known for certain: the sources consulted give no settled meaning for it. So we give none; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

How many people are named Lena in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 4,379 people with the first name Lena, which ranks it number 3,009 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1970s.

Is Lena a boy's or a girl's name?

Lena is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 4,344 women and 35 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Lena?

Lena is a name of Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Lena most common?

Proportionally, in Pará: 0.007% of the state's population is named Lena (567 people), according to the 2022 Census.

More names of Greek origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Lena with a source. See the methodology.