Imena
Derived from the Arabic word "ism" meaning "name" or "designation".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Imena. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Imena today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Imena births was 2022 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Imena. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Imena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
2022
11 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,969
Tracked since 2006
Gender
Gender distribution for Imena
Imena is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 31 total registrations, 10 (32.3%) were male and 21 (67.7%) were female.
Imena as a male name
- Ranked #12,969 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Imena as a female name
- Ranked #14,237 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (6 births)
Popularity
Imena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Imena from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 16 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Imena 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 Imena 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 Imena
The name Imena has its roots in the Slavic languages, specifically Russian and Bulgarian. It is believed to have originated in the early medieval period, around the 8th or 9th century AD. The name is derived from the Slavic word "ime," which means "name" or "identity."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Imena can be found in the Primary Chronicle, a historical text compiled in Kievan Rus' in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The chronicle mentions an individual named Imena, who was a noblewoman from the city of Polotsk.
In the 13th century, there was a famous Russian icon painter named Imena, who is known for creating several iconic religious artworks. Some of his most notable works include the icons of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity, which are now housed in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
During the 15th century, a woman named Imena Golitsyna became a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church. She was a prominent benefactor and patron of several monasteries and churches throughout Russia.
In the 17th century, there was a Russian writer and playwright named Imena Krylov, who was known for his satirical and humorous works. His most famous work was the fable collection "Basni," which was published in 1809.
Another notable figure with the name Imena was Imena Pavlova, a Russian prima ballerina who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was one of the most celebrated dancers of her time and is considered a pioneer of modern ballet. Imena Pavlova was born in 1881 and died in 1931.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Imena. While the name may have originated in the Slavic regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world and continues to be used today.
People
Imena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Imena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Imena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Imena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Imena 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Imena a common name?
We classify Imena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Imena most popular?
The single biggest year for Imena was 2022, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Imena is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Imena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Imena a female name?
Yes, 67.7% of people registered as Imena 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 Imena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Imena 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 Imena 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Imena as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.