Abena
A feminine Akan name meaning born on Tuesday.
Name Census estimates that about 633 living Americans carry the first name Abena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Abena today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abena births was 2006 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abena. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Abena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
633
~ 1 in 541,476 Americans
Peak year
2006
25 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,408
Tracked since 1971
Census
Abena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,210 people with the first name Abena, which placed it at #10,835 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,835
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,210 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abena is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Abena described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Abena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.9% · 1,148
- Two or more races1.7% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 16
- White1.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Abena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abena from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 174 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Abena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abena by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Abena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Maryland, Virginia recorded the most babies named Abena, while Virginia, Maryland, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abena
The name Abena originates from the Akan language spoken in Ghana and other parts of West Africa. It is a female name that means "born on Tuesday" or "a child of grace and blessing." The name can be traced back to ancient Akan naming traditions, where children were often named based on the day of the week they were born.
In Akan culture, the day of birth held significant spiritual and traditional importance. Tuesday was considered a favorable day for births, and children born on this day were believed to possess special qualities and blessings. The name Abena was bestowed upon girls born on Tuesdays as a way to honor this belief and mark their auspicious arrival.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Abena can be found in oral histories and traditions passed down through generations of Akan people. While the exact origin of the name is difficult to pinpoint, it has been a part of Akan culture for centuries, with references to it appearing in traditional folklore, proverbs, and songs.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Abena. One of the earliest recorded examples is Abena Attaa Kodjo, a Queen Mother of the Akwamu Kingdom in present-day Ghana, who lived in the late 17th century. She was renowned for her leadership and diplomatic skills, playing a crucial role in negotiating peace treaties and maintaining stability in the region.
Another prominent figure was Abena Nsia, a skilled potter and ceramic artist who lived in the late 19th century in Asante, Ghana. Her intricate and beautifully crafted pottery pieces were highly sought after and are now considered significant cultural artifacts, showcasing the artistic traditions of the Akan people.
In the 20th century, Abena Busia, born in 1926, was a renowned Ghanaian academic, writer, and diplomat. She served as the first female Ghanaian ambassador to Brazil and later became the first African woman to hold the position of Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
Abena Tawiah, born in 1976, is a contemporary Ghanaian musician and songwriter known for her contributions to the Highlife and Afro-pop genres. Her music celebrates traditional Akan culture while incorporating modern influences, making her a prominent figure in the African music scene.
Abena Osseo-Asare, born in 1962, is a Ghanaian-American engineer and academic who has made significant contributions to the field of low-cost infrastructure and sustainable technologies. She is the co-founder of the Osseo Asare Foundation, which promotes education and economic development in Ghana.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Abena throughout history, showcasing its enduring cultural significance and the diverse achievements of those who bear it.
People
Abena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Abena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abena going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 541,476 US residents.
Is Abena a common name?
We classify Abena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 656 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abena most popular?
The single biggest year for Abena was 2006, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abena is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,210 people with the name Abena, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,835 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Abena in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Abena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abena appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,199 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Abena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abena is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Abena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Abena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (1,148 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Abena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abena in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Abena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abena in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Abena can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Abena?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Abena, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.