Larna
A feminine given name of unknown meaning, potentially Old Norse in origin.
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the first name Larna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Larna today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Larna births was 1957 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Larna. 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 Larna with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Larna is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Larnas were born before 1967.
People living today
119
~ 1 in 2,880,289 Americans
Peak year
1957
11 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1978 SSA rank
#10,614
Tracked since 1917
Census
Larna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 225 people with the first name Larna, which placed it at #35,641 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
#35,641
National first-name rank
People counted
225
225 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Larna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Larna is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Larna 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 Larna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.7% · 159
- Black or African American20.9% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 7
- Two or more races3.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
Popularity
Larna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Larna from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 62 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Larna 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 Larna 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 Larna
The name Larna is thought to have its origins in an ancient Scandinavian language, possibly Old Norse or a related Germanic tongue spoken by the Vikings and their ancestors in the early medieval period. The exact etymology is uncertain, but it may be derived from a root word meaning "to learn" or "to study," suggesting a connection to knowledge, wisdom, or scholarship.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Larna can be traced back to a Norse saga from the 12th century, where it appears as the name of a minor character, a young woman from a noble family. This suggests that the name was in use, at least among certain circles in Scandinavia, as early as the High Middle Ages.
In the centuries that followed, the name Larna seems to have remained relatively obscure, with few notable historical figures bearing it. However, in the late 16th century, a woman named Larna Eriksdotter (1572-1649) achieved some renown as a midwife and traditional healer in the Swedish province of Dalarna. Her skills and reputation were such that she was sought out by families from far and wide, and her name is still remembered in local folklore.
The 19th century saw the emergence of a notable painter named Larna Kingsford (1828-1892), whose landscapes and portraits of rural life in England were highly regarded in her time. Kingsford's work is now part of the permanent collections of several major art galleries in the United Kingdom.
More recently, Larna Barrett (1914-2002) was a British author and playwright who achieved critical acclaim for her novels and stage plays in the mid-20th century. Her most famous work, "The Lark's Ascending," was adapted for the screen in 1961 and is considered a classic of British cinema.
Another noteworthy figure was Larna Hawkins (1923-2008), an American civil rights activist who played a key role in the desegregation of public schools in the southern United States. Hawkins' tireless efforts and courage in the face of adversity earned her numerous accolades and honors during her lifetime.
While the name Larna has never been widespread, its enduring presence throughout history, from its possible Norse origins to modern times, reflects a certain enduring quality and resilience. Whether rooted in ancient wisdom or a spirit of exploration and learning, the name Larna has left its mark on the cultural tapestry of the Western world.
People
Larna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Larna 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
Larna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Larna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Larna 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 2,880,289 US residents.
Is Larna a common name?
We classify Larna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Larna most popular?
The single biggest year for Larna was 1957, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Larna is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Larna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 225 people with the name Larna, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,641 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 Larna 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 Larna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Larna appears almost entirely female. Of the 223 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Larna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Larna is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Larna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Larna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.7% (159 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 Larna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Larna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Larna 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 Larna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Larna 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 Larna 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 Larna 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.