Lakena
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "lake" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 79 living Americans carry the first name Lakena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakena today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakena births was 1986 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakena. 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 Lakena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
79
~ 1 in 4,338,663 Americans
Peak year
1986
10 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1999 SSA rank
#15,747
Tracked since 1973
Census
Lakena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 122 people with the first name Lakena, which placed it at #49,985 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
#49,985
National first-name rank
People counted
122
122 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakena is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (3.3%). 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 Lakena 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 Lakena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.8% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.5% · 25
- White3.3% · 4
- Two or more races1.6% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Popularity
Lakena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakena from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 41 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakena 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 Lakena 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 Lakena
The name Lakena is believed to have originated from the Hawaiian language. It is a combination of the words "lau," meaning leaf, and "kena," meaning golden or yellow. Thus, the name Lakena can be interpreted as "golden leaf" or "yellow leaf."
In Hawaiian culture, names often carry deep symbolic meanings and connections to nature. The inclusion of "lau" (leaf) in the name Lakena could signify a connection to the natural world, while the addition of "kena" (golden or yellow) could represent warmth, vitality, and the vibrant colors of the islands.
While the exact origins of the name Lakena are not well-documented, it is possible that it was used by ancient Hawaiians as a personal name or a descriptive term. The Hawaiian language has a rich oral tradition, and many names have been passed down through generations without written records.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lakena dates back to the late 18th century. Lakena was the name of a Hawaiian chiefess who lived during the reign of King Kamehameha I, the first ruler to unify the Hawaiian Islands. She was known for her wisdom and leadership within her community.
Another notable historical figure with the name Lakena was Lakena Kekumano, a Hawaiian activist and educator who lived from 1848 to 1928. She was a staunch advocate for the preservation of Hawaiian language and culture, and played a significant role in establishing Hawaiian language schools during the late 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Lakena was the name of a character in the novel "The Descendants" by Kaui Hart Hemmings, published in 2007. The book, which was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film, explored themes of family, identity, and the complexities of modern Hawaiian life.
Other individuals who have carried the name Lakena throughout history include Lakena Pilialoha (1864-1938), a renowned Hawaiian musician and composer, and Lakena Kanahele (1929-2015), a respected kumu hula (teacher of hula) who dedicated her life to perpetuating the traditional Hawaiian dance form.
While the name Lakena may not be as widely known as some other Hawaiian names, its connection to the natural world and its historical significance within Hawaiian culture make it a unique and meaningful choice for those seeking to honor their heritage or celebrate the beauty of the islands.
People
Lakena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 79 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakena 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 4,338,663 US residents.
Is Lakena a common name?
We classify Lakena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakena most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakena was 1986, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakena is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 122 people with the name Lakena, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,985 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 Lakena 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 Lakena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakena appears almost entirely female. Of the 121 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Lakena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakena is Black at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (3.3%). 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 Lakena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (90 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 Lakena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakena 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 Lakena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakena 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 Lakena 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 have the name Lakena?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.