Albena
A feminine Bulgarian name derived from the Slavic word for "dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Albena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Albena today is around 111 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Albena births was 1917 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Albena. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Albena is about 111 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Albenas were born before 1925.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Albena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1917
29 babies that year
Average age
111
years old
1932 SSA rank
#4,420
Tracked since 1889
Popularity
Albena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Albena from the 1880s through to the 1930s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 182 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Albena 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 Albena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Albenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Albena
The name Albena is believed to have originated from the Bulgarian language and culture. It is a feminine name derived from the Slavic word "belen," meaning "white" or "pale." The name is thought to have first emerged in the region of modern-day Bulgaria during the medieval period, around the 9th or 10th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Albena can be found in Bulgarian folklore and literature from the 14th century. It was often used as a symbolic name representing purity, innocence, and beauty. The name gained popularity among the Bulgarian aristocracy and nobility during this time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Albena Miladinova was a Bulgarian poet and revolutionary who fought against Ottoman rule. She was born in 1840 and played a significant role in the Bulgarian National Revival movement.
Another historical figure bearing the name Albena was Albena Alexandrova, a Bulgarian actress and singer who lived from 1925 to 1992. She was known for her performances in numerous plays and films during the mid-20th century and was honored with several awards for her contributions to Bulgarian culture.
In the field of sports, Albena Denkova was a Bulgarian volleyball player who competed in the 1980 and 1988 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in 1980. She was born in 1957 and is considered one of the greatest volleyball players in Bulgarian history.
Albena Dimitrova, born in 1963, is a renowned Bulgarian opera singer who has performed on prestigious stages around the world. She is particularly acclaimed for her interpretations of roles in operas by Verdi, Puccini, and other Italian composers.
Outside of Bulgaria, the name Albena has also been used, though less commonly. In the early 20th century, there was an Italian actress named Albena Passamonti who appeared in several silent films in the 1920s.
People
Albena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Albena 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
Albena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Albena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Albena 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Albena a common name?
We classify Albena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 397 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Albena most popular?
The single biggest year for Albena was 1917, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Albena is about 111 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Albena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Albena 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.
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.