Elleana
From the Spanish name Elena, meaning "bright, shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 483 living Americans carry the first name Elleana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elleana today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elleana births was 2012 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elleana. 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 Elleana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
483
~ 1 in 709,636 Americans
Peak year
2012
28 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,995
Tracked since 1997
Census
Elleana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 389 people with the first name Elleana, which placed it at #24,672 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
#24,672
National first-name rank
People counted
389
389 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elleana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elleana is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.3%) and Two or More Races (9.8%). 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 Elleana 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 Elleana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.2% · 199
- Hispanic or Latino29.3% · 114
- Two or more races9.8% · 38
- Black or African American4.4% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Popularity
Elleana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elleana 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 219 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Elleana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elleana 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 Elleana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elleanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Elleana, while Texas, Ohio, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elleana
The name Elleana is a feminine given name with roots tracing back to ancient Greece. It is believed to be a variation of the Greek name Eleana, derived from the word "helene," meaning "bright one" or "shining light." This connection to luminosity and radiance has contributed to the name's enduring charm and appeal throughout history.
In its earliest recorded use, the name Elleana appeared in ancient Greek texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century BC. It was a name favored among the nobility and aristocratic classes of the time, often bestowed upon daughters as a symbol of their family's status and aspirations for their bright futures.
During the Byzantine era, the name Elleana experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among the Eastern Orthodox Christian community. This may have been influenced by its similarity to the name Helena, associated with St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, who played a significant role in the establishment of Christianity as a dominant religion in the Roman Empire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Elleana was a Greek noblewoman who lived in the 3rd century AD. Known for her intelligence and wit, she was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of her time and is mentioned in several historical accounts as a patron of the arts and philosophy.
In the 12th century, an Elleana was recorded as being a renowned poet and scholar in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Her works, although now largely lost, were celebrated for their lyrical beauty and profound insights.
During the Renaissance period, the name Elleana found favor among the Italian aristocracy. One notable figure was Elleana Medici (1470-1555), a member of the influential Medici family and a patron of the arts who commissioned numerous works of art and architecture that still stand as landmarks in Florence today.
In the 19th century, the name Elleana gained popularity in Russia, where it was embraced by the nobility and upper classes. One of the most famous Russian Elleanas was Elleana Pavlovna (1807-1873), a princess and philanthropist who devoted her life to charitable causes and the establishment of educational institutions for underprivileged children.
Another noteworthy figure was Elleana Duse (1858-1924), an Italian actress renowned for her innovative and emotionally charged performances. She was widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her time and played a pivotal role in the development of modern acting techniques.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Elleana, each contributing to its rich legacy and enduring appeal across cultures and generations.
People
Elleana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elleana 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
Elleana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elleana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 483 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elleana 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 709,636 US residents.
Is Elleana a common name?
We classify Elleana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 488 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elleana most popular?
The single biggest year for Elleana was 2012, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elleana is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elleana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 389 people with the name Elleana, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,672 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 Elleana 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 Elleana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elleana appears almost entirely female. Of the 384 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Elleana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elleana is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.3%) and Two or More Races (9.8%). 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 Elleana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elleana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.2% (199 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 Elleana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elleana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elleana 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 Elleana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elleana 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 Elleana 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 named Elleana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.