Alyona
A feminine name of Russian origin meaning "radiant, bright, or luminous".
Name Census estimates that about 303 living Americans carry the first name Alyona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alyona today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alyona births was 2015 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alyona. 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 Alyona with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
303
~ 1 in 1,131,202 Americans
Peak year
2015
18 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,290
Tracked since 1991
Census
Alyona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 579 people with the first name Alyona, which placed it at #18,565 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
#18,565
National first-name rank
People counted
579
579 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alyona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alyona is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Alyona 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 Alyona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 498
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 24
- Two or more races4.1% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 22
- Black or African American1.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Alyona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alyona from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 124 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alyona remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alyona 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 Alyona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alyona
The given name Alyona has its origins in the Russian language. It is a diminutive form of the name Alyona, which is derived from the Greek name Helena. The name Helena is believed to be derived from the Greek word "helene," meaning "bright" or "shining."
The earliest recorded use of the name Alyona can be traced back to the 16th century in Russia. It was a popular name among the Russian nobility and aristocracy during this time period. The name gained wider popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries as it spread to other Slavic countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Alyona was Alyona Arbutova, a Russian noblewoman who lived in the 17th century. She was known for her philanthropic work and her support of the arts and literature.
In the 18th century, Alyona Pavlovna Sheremeteva, a Russian princess and patron of the arts, was a prominent figure. She was known for her support of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and her patronage of many artists and writers.
In the 19th century, Alyona Sergeyevna Tolstaya, the daughter of the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, was a notable figure. She was an author and activist in her own right, and she played a significant role in promoting her father's literary works.
Another famous Alyona from the 19th century was Alyona Mikhailovna Semyonova, a Russian ballerina who was considered one of the greatest dancers of her time. She was known for her exceptional technique and her interpretations of classical roles.
In the 20th century, Alyona Ivanovna Kuznetsova was a Soviet sniper during World War II. She was credited with over 300 confirmed kills and was awarded several military honors for her bravery and service.
While the name Alyona has its roots in Russia and the Slavic region, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with Slavic or Eastern European heritage. The name has a strong and distinctive sound, and its meaning of "bright" or "shining" adds to its appeal.
People
Alyona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alyona 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
Alyona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alyona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 303 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alyona 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 1,131,202 US residents.
Is Alyona a common name?
We classify Alyona as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alyona most popular?
The single biggest year for Alyona was 2015, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alyona is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alyona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 579 people with the name Alyona, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,565 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 Alyona 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 Alyona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alyona appears almost entirely female. Of the 574 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 Alyona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alyona is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Alyona most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alyona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (498 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 Alyona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alyona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alyona 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 Alyona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alyona 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 Alyona 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 called Alyona?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.