Eleena
Modern variant of Elena derived from Greek meaning "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 472 living Americans carry the first name Eleena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eleena today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eleena births was 2014 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eleena. 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
472
~ 1 in 726,174 Americans
Peak year
2014
29 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,056
Tracked since 1985
Popularity
Eleena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eleena 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 206 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eleena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eleena 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 Eleena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eleenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eleena
The name Eleena has its origins in ancient Greek culture, deriving from the word "elene," which means "bright" or "shining." This name was often associated with the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, and was believed to bestow beauty, grace, and radiance upon its bearer.
In the 5th century BC, the Greek playwright Euripides wrote a tragedy titled "Helena," which told the story of the legendary beauty Helen of Troy, whose abduction sparked the Trojan War. This literary work helped popularize the name and its variants, including Eleena, throughout the Greek world.
During the Byzantine era, the name Eleena gained prominence among the Eastern Orthodox Christian community. It was often given to girls born on the feast day of St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who was renowned for her piety and her role in discovering the True Cross in Jerusalem.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Eleena can be found in the writings of the 9th-century Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor, who mentioned a noblewoman named Eleena residing in the imperial court of Constantinople.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Eleena. In the 11th century, Eleena Pavlovna was a Russian princess and the daughter of Prince Pavel Yaroslavich. She played a significant role in the complex dynastic struggles of her time.
During the Renaissance, Eleena Cornaro (1472-1548) was a Venetian noblewoman and the last Queen of Cyprus. Her reign marked the end of the Lusignan dynasty and the eventual annexation of Cyprus by the Republic of Venice.
In the 19th century, Eleena Dutrieux (1834-1898) was a Belgian painter and sculptor known for her portraits and mythological scenes. She received numerous accolades for her artistic achievements, including the Order of Leopold.
Another notable figure was Eleena Stasova (1873-1966), a Russian writer and literary critic who played a significant role in the promotion of Russian literature and culture. She was a close friend of many prominent writers, including Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov.
In the 20th century, Eleena Arizmendi (1914-1989) was a Mexican artist and sculptor renowned for her works in bronze and stone. Her sculptures often depicted indigenous themes and were celebrated for their expressive power and technical mastery.
People
Eleena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eleena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eleena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eleena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 472 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eleena 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 726,174 US residents.
Is Eleena a common name?
We classify Eleena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 478 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eleena most popular?
The single biggest year for Eleena was 2014, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eleena is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eleena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eleena 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.