Alaena
Feminine name of Greek origin meaning "bright light" or "defender".
Name Census estimates that about 282 living Americans carry the first name Alaena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaena today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaena births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaena. 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.
People living today
282
~ 1 in 1,215,441 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,491
Tracked since 1981
Census
Alaena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 268 people with the first name Alaena, which placed it at #31,773 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
#31,773
National first-name rank
People counted
268
268 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alaena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaena is White at 65.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Black (7.5%). 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 Alaena 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 Alaena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.7% · 176
- Hispanic or Latino14.2% · 38
- Black or African American7.5% · 20
- Two or more races7.1% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Alaena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaena from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 113 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alaena 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 Alaena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alaenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alaena
The given name Alaena is a modern invention, likely derived from the Greek word "alaina," which means "to wander" or "to roam." It is not a traditional name with a long historical lineage, but rather a recently coined name that has gained popularity in recent decades.
While the name's exact origins are uncertain, it is believed to have been created by combining elements from various existing names and words. The prefix "Al-" is a common prefix found in many Arabic and Hebrew names, such as Aladdin, Alia, and Aliyah. The suffix "-aena" bears resemblance to feminine name endings like Elena, Selena, and Athena.
There are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Alaena, as it is a relatively new addition to the pool of given names. However, its linguistic roots in Greek and its structural similarities to other names of Arabic and Hebrew origin suggest a blending of cultural influences.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Alaena are from the late 20th century, with the name gaining more widespread use in the 21st century. While not a common name, it has been adopted by a small number of individuals worldwide.
Due to its modern origin, there are relatively few notable historical figures who have borne the name Alaena. However, here are five individuals who have been documented with this first name:
1. Alaena Hogan (born 1985), an American actress and singer known for her roles in independent films and theater productions.
2. Alaena Hosterman (born 1993), a Canadian volleyball player who competed for the Canadian national team and played professionally in Europe.
3. Alaena Sheppard (born 1989), a British fashion designer and entrepreneur, known for her sustainable and ethical clothing line.
4. Alaena Garibaldi (born 1982), an Italian artist and sculptor, whose works have been exhibited in various galleries across Europe.
5. Alaena Kunitz (born 1995), an American writer and poet, whose debut collection of poetry was published in 2021.
While the name Alaena may lack a deep historical background, its blend of linguistic influences and modern appeal have contributed to its growing popularity as a unique and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Alaena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaena 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
Alaena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaena 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 1,215,441 US residents.
Is Alaena a common name?
We classify Alaena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 287 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaena most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaena was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaena is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alaena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 268 people with the name Alaena, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,773 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 Alaena 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 Alaena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alaena appears almost entirely female. Of the 265 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Alaena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaena is White at 65.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Black (7.5%). 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 Alaena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alaena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.7% (176 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 Alaena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alaena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaena 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 Alaena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alaena 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 Alaena 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 are named Alaena?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.