Morena
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "dark-skinned" or "brunette".
Name Census estimates that about 275 living Americans carry the first name Morena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Morena today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Morena births was 1997 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Morena. 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 Morena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
275
~ 1 in 1,246,379 Americans
Peak year
1997
17 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,865
Tracked since 1957
Census
Morena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,286 people with the first name Morena, which placed it at #6,871 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
#6,871
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,286 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
84.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Morena is Hispanic at 84.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Morena 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 Morena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.6% · 1,934
- White8.0% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 94
- Black or African American2.0% · 46
- Two or more races1.0% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Popularity
Morena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Morena from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 95 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Morena 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 Morena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Morenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Morena
The name Morena has its origins in the Spanish language, deriving from the word "moreno" which means "dark-skinned" or "tanned." This name was likely used to describe individuals with olive or darker complexions, particularly those of Spanish or Latin American descent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Morena can be found in the 16th century Spanish novel "La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas, where a character named Morena is mentioned. This suggests that the name was in use during the Renaissance period in Spain.
In the realm of religious texts, the name Morena does not appear to have any significant references. However, it may have been used as a descriptive term or nickname for individuals within certain Catholic or Christian communities in Spanish-speaking regions.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Morena was Morena Escardo y Baylina (1827-1918), a Spanish feminist and writer who advocated for women's rights and education. She founded the first secular school for girls in Spain and played a pivotal role in the early feminist movement in her country.
Another historical figure with the name Morena was Morena Torroba (1888-1964), a Spanish composer and pianist known for her contributions to the zarzuela genre, a traditional Spanish operetta form. She composed several popular zarzuelas and worked to preserve and promote this art form during her lifetime.
In the realm of literature, the Brazilian writer Morena Brizola (1911-2002) was a notable figure. She was known for her novels and short stories that explored themes of social injustice and the experiences of marginalized communities in Brazil.
The name Morena also has connections to the world of art. Morena Alcibar (1920-2008) was a Panamanian painter and sculptor whose works were heavily influenced by her indigenous heritage and the vibrant colors of her native Panama.
In more recent times, the name Morena has been used by several public figures, including Morena Baccarin, an American actress known for her roles in television shows such as "Firefly" and "Homeland." However, to maintain the focus on historical figures, this response does not delve into contemporary individuals.
People
Morena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Morena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Morena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Morena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 275 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Morena 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 1,246,379 US residents.
Is Morena a common name?
We classify Morena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 287 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Morena most popular?
The single biggest year for Morena was 1997, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Morena is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Morena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,286 people with the name Morena, or 0.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,871 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 Morena 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 Morena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Morena appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,285 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Morena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Morena is Hispanic at 84.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Morena most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Morena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (1,934 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 Morena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Morena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Morena 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 Morena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Morena 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 Morena 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 share the name Morena?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.