Gena
An English feminine form of the Russian masculine name Gena, variant of Gennadiy.
Name Census estimates that about 10,117 living Americans carry the first name Gena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gena today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gena births was 1968 (502 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gena. 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
10K
~ 1 in 33,879 Americans
Peak year
1968
502 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,402
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Gena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 3,967 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gena 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 Gena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Genas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Gena, while South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 211 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gena
The name Gena is a diminutive form of the Russian name Gennady, which is derived from the Greek name Gennadios. The name Gennadios is a combination of the Greek words "gennados" meaning "noble" and "gennaios" meaning "generous" or "magnanimous." It is believed to have originated in the Byzantine Empire during the medieval period.
During the Christian era, the name Gennadios gained popularity as it was borne by several early saints and church figures. One of the most notable was Saint Gennadius of Constantinople, who served as the Patriarch of Constantinople in the 5th century AD. Another significant figure was Gennadius of Marseilles, a 5th-century priest and theologian who authored a treatise on the lives of various Christian writers.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gena as a diminutive form can be traced back to the 19th century in Russia. It became particularly popular after the Russian Revolution of 1917, as many traditional names were shortened or modified to fit the new cultural norms. Notable historical figures with the name Gena include the Soviet actress Gena Rowlands (born 1930), who was of Ukrainian descent, and the Russian actress Gena Dimitrova (1941-2005).
Another prominent bearer of the name was Gena Turgel (1924-2018), a Polish-born Israeli sculptor and painter who survived the Holocaust and went on to create numerous public artworks and memorials. The name Gena was also borne by the American author and journalist Gena Rowlands (1909-1973), who wrote several novels and biographies.
In the field of science, Gena Samoilova (1892-1962) was a Soviet botanist and plant physiologist who made significant contributions to the understanding of plant respiration and photosynthesis. She was elected as a corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1958.
While the name Gena may have originated from the Greek and Russian cultural spheres, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in Eastern Europe and the United States. However, its roots can be traced back to the rich historical and linguistic traditions of the Byzantine Empire and the early Christian era.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Gena
People
Gena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,117 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gena 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 33,879 US residents.
Is Gena a common name?
We classify Gena as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,825 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gena most popular?
The single biggest year for Gena was 1968, when 502 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gena is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gena 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.