Felina
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "little cat" or "kitten".
Name Census estimates that about 357 living Americans carry the first name Felina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Felina today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Felina births was 1971 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Felina. 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
357
~ 1 in 960,096 Americans
Peak year
1971
18 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,982
Tracked since 1959
Census
Felina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 734 people with the first name Felina, which placed it at #15,622 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
#15,622
National first-name rank
People counted
734
734 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
40.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Felina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Felina is Hispanic at 40.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.9%) and White (19.9%). 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 Felina 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 Felina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino40.9% · 300
- Asian and Pacific Islander25.9% · 190
- White19.9% · 146
- Black or African American9.0% · 66
- Two or more races2.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 11
Popularity
Felina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Felina from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Felina 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 Felina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Felinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Felina
The name Felina is derived from the Latin word "felinus," which means "cat-like" or "feline." This name has its roots in ancient Roman culture, where cats were revered as symbols of grace, independence, and protection.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Felina was associated with strength and resilience. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name appears in the writings of Saint Jerome, a 4th-century scholar and theologian, who mentioned a woman named Felina who lived a life of piety and devotion.
During the Middle Ages, the name Felina gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy of various European countries. One notable figure from this era was Felina of Aragon (1228-1295), a Spanish noblewoman who played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of her time.
In the Renaissance period, the name Felina was embraced by artists and intellectuals, who appreciated its association with the natural world and feline grace. One such figure was Felina Neri (1476-1559), an Italian painter and artist known for her exquisite portraiture and religious artwork.
As the centuries passed, the name Felina continued to be used across various cultures and regions. In the 19th century, Felina Avila (1813-1895) was a renowned Mexican poet and writer whose works celebrated the beauty and resilience of her homeland.
Another notable figure was Felina Holmström (1911-1994), a Finnish writer and translator who played a crucial role in introducing Finnish literature to international audiences. Her works focused on themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the human condition.
Felina has also been associated with strength and determination in various fields, including sports and activism. Felina Reyneke (born 1980) is a South African professional golfer who has won multiple tournaments and represented her country in international competitions.
While the name Felina has evolved and been embraced by diverse cultures over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Roman world, where it symbolized grace, independence, and a connection to the feline spirit.
People
Felina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Felina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Felina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Felina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 357 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Felina 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 960,096 US residents.
Is Felina a common name?
We classify Felina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 382 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Felina most popular?
The single biggest year for Felina was 1971, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Felina is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Felina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 734 people with the name Felina, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,622 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 Felina 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 Felina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Felina appears almost entirely female. Of the 725 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 Felina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Felina is Hispanic at 40.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.9%) and White (19.9%). 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 Felina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Felina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.9% (300 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 Felina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Felina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Felina 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 Felina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Felina 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 Felina 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 Americans are named Felina?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Felina at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.