Carena
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "affectionate, lovely".
Name Census estimates that about 310 living Americans carry the first name Carena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carena today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carena births was 1998 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carena. 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
310
~ 1 in 1,105,659 Americans
Peak year
1998
18 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,980
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Carena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carena from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 111 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carena 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 Carena 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 Carena
The given name Carena has its origins in the Latin language, dating back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "carina," which means "keel," referring to the bottom ridge of a ship's hull. This etymology suggests a connection to maritime and naval traditions in the Roman Empire.
Carena was a relatively uncommon name during the classical era, but it did appear in some historical documents and inscriptions. One notable early reference is found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Carena in his account of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage in the 3rd century BC.
The name gained more prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in parts of southern Europe with strong Latin linguistic influences. In the 12th century, a Carena was recorded as the abbess of a convent in Tuscany, Italy, indicating the name's continued use in religious circles.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Carena was Carena da Montefeltro, an Italian noblewoman born around 1245 in the Marche region of central Italy. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the local Franciscan community.
In the 16th century, Carena Michiel was a notable figure in Venice, Italy. Born in 1510, she was a member of the influential Michiel family and played a significant role in the city's cultural and political life.
During the 17th century, Carena Grimani was a Venetian noblewoman born in 1629. She was known for her involvement in various charitable organizations and her support of the city's artistic endeavors.
In the 19th century, Carena Berti was an Italian painter and artist born in 1847 in Florence. She achieved recognition for her portraits and landscapes, which were exhibited in prestigious venues across Italy.
Another notable figure with the name Carena was Carena Codrescu, a Romanian writer and translator born in 1885. She played an important role in introducing modernist literature to Romanian readers through her translations of works by authors such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.
While the name Carena has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has persisted in various regions, particularly in parts of Italy and other areas with Latin cultural influences. Its maritime and naval connotations have given the name a distinctive character and historical significance.
People
Carena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Carena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 310 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carena 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 1,105,659 US residents.
Is Carena a common name?
We classify Carena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 329 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carena most popular?
The single biggest year for Carena was 1998, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carena is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Carena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carena 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.