Regina
A feminine given name derived from the Latin word meaning "queen".
Name Census estimates that about 128,090 living Americans carry the first name Regina. It sits at #340 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Regina today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Regina births was 1962 (5,020 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Regina. 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 Regina with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Regina is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 563 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
128K
~ 1 in 2,676 Americans
Peak year
1962
5,020 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1991 SSA rank
#340
Tracked since 1880
Census
Regina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 139,154 people with the first name Regina, which placed it at #405 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
#405
National first-name rank
People counted
139K
139,154 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
46.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Regina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Regina is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Hispanic (11.8%). 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 Regina 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 Regina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.2% · 81,007
- Black or African American23.0% · 32,000
- Hispanic or Latino11.8% · 16,460
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 4,503
- Two or more races2.8% · 3,925
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1,259
Gender
Gender distribution for Regina
Out of the 184,039 babies given the name Regina since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Regina as a male name
- Ranked #8,024 in 1991
- 6 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1967 (26 births)
Regina as a female name
- Ranked #340 in 2024
- 911 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1962 (5,003 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Regina appears almost entirely female. Of the 139,152 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Regina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Regina 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 46,001 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
Regina 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 Regina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reginas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Regina, while Vermont, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,444 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Regina
The name Regina is a feminine given name that originates from the Latin word "regina," meaning "queen." Its roots can be traced back to the Roman Empire, where it was used to refer to the empress or the wife of the emperor.
Regina gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Catholic-dominated regions of Europe. It was often bestowed upon girls born into royal or noble families, reflecting their elevated status and the hope that they would grow up to become respected and influential women.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Regina can be found in the Biblical Book of Esther. In this text, Queen Esther is referred to as "Regina Esther" in the Latin translation. This association with a powerful and influential biblical figure contributed to the name's widespread use in Christian communities.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Regina. One of the most famous was Regina Margherita of Savoy (1851-1926), the Queen Consort of Italy from 1878 until her death. She was known for her charitable works and her support for the unification of Italy.
Another prominent Regina was Regina Maria Roche (1764-1845), an Irish writer and novelist best known for her Gothic novel "The Children of the Abbey," which was widely popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the realm of music, Regina Spektor (born in 1980) is a Russian-American singer-songwriter and pianist who has gained critical acclaim for her unique blend of genres and her poetic lyrics.
The name Regina also has a strong connection to the Catholic Church. Saint Regina, also known as Saint Regina of Autun, was a 3rd-century Christian martyr who was venerated for her unwavering faith and courage in the face of persecution.
Additionally, Regina is the name of several cities and towns around the world, including Regina, the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, and Regina, a town in the Piedmont region of Italy.
While the name Regina has maintained its popularity throughout the centuries, it has also seen variations and diminutives emerge, such as Rina, Gina, and Reine, which reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of different regions.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Regina
People
Regina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Regina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Regina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Regina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 128,090 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Regina 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 2,676 US residents.
Is Regina a common name?
We classify Regina as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 184,039 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Regina most popular?
The single biggest year for Regina was 1962, when 5,020 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Regina is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Regina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 139,154 people with the name Regina, or 46.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #405 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 Regina 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 Regina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Regina appears almost entirely female. Of the 139,152 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Regina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Regina is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Hispanic (11.8%). 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 Regina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Regina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.2% (81,007 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 Regina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Regina a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Regina 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 Regina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Regina 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 Regina 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 Americans are named Regina?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.