Borna
A masculine name of Persian origin meaning "son of the camel".
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the first name Borna. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Borna today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Borna births was 2017 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Borna. 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 Borna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
118
~ 1 in 2,904,698 Americans
Peak year
2017
21 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,870
Tracked since 1996
Census
Borna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 223 people with the first name Borna, which placed it at #35,856 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
#35,856
National first-name rank
People counted
223
223 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Borna is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Borna 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 Borna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 183
- Two or more races11.2% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 6
- Black or African American2.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 4
Popularity
Borna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Borna 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 42 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Borna 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 Borna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bornas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Borna
The name Borna finds its origins in the Slavic languages, primarily in the Serbo-Croatian linguistic branch. It is believed to have derived from the Slavic word 'bor,' meaning 'pine tree.' The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the medieval period in the Balkans.
In ancient Slavic mythology, the pine tree held significant symbolism, representing strength, resilience, and longevity. It was revered by various Slavic tribes, and the name Borna may have been bestowed upon individuals to imbue them with these qualities.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Borna can be found in the medieval chronicles of the Kingdom of Croatia, where it was borne by Borna, the Duke of Guduscani, who ruled in the 9th century. This historical figure played a prominent role in the resistance against Frankish rule in the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Borna of Rascia, a Serbian prince from the 13th century. He was a member of the Nemanjić dynasty and is believed to have held significant influence in the region during his lifetime.
In the 15th century, Borna Milosavljević was a Serbian writer and scribe who contributed to the preservation of Serbian literature and culture during the Ottoman rule. His work played a crucial role in maintaining the cultural identity of the Serbian people.
Moving forward in time, Borna Sammartini was an Italian-Croatian composer and violinist who lived in the 18th century. He made significant contributions to the development of classical music, particularly in the field of violin compositions.
In the 20th century, Borna Prica was a renowned Croatian sculptor and painter. His works, which often explored themes of humanism and social commentary, have been widely exhibited and celebrated both in Croatia and internationally.
Throughout its history, the name Borna has been predominantly used in the Balkan region, particularly in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. While it may have fallen out of widespread use in recent times, it remains a significant part of the cultural heritage and history of the Slavic peoples.
People
Borna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Borna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Borna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Borna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Borna 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 2,904,698 US residents.
Is Borna a common name?
We classify Borna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Borna most popular?
The single biggest year for Borna was 2017, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Borna is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Borna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 223 people with the name Borna, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,856 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 Borna 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 Borna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Borna leans strongly male. 214 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 13 female bearers (5.7%). 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 Borna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Borna is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Borna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Borna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (183 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 Borna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Borna a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Borna in the SSA data are male. 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 Borna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Borna 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 Borna 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 Borna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.