Robena
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Robert.
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Robena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Robena today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Robena births was 1920 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Robena. 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
- • The typical person named Robena is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Robenas were born before 1961.
People living today
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
1920
29 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1974 SSA rank
#9,841
Tracked since 1897
Census
Robena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 237 people with the first name Robena, which placed it at #34,427 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
#34,427
National first-name rank
People counted
237
237 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Robena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Robena is Black at 41.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Robena 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 Robena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.4% · 98
- White40.1% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 11
- Two or more races3.8% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Robena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Robena from the 1890s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 171 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Robena 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 Robena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Robenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Robena
The name Robena is believed to have originated from the Scottish Gaelic language, with its roots traced back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic word "roban," which means "bright" or "radiant." The name's earliest known usage dates back to the 12th century in the Scottish Highlands.
In ancient Scottish folklore, Robena was often associated with the personification of the sun's rays, symbolizing warmth, vitality, and the renewal of life. This connection to the natural world and the cycle of seasons held significant cultural significance for the Gaelic-speaking communities of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Robena can be found in the historical records of the Clan MacLeod, a prominent Scottish Highland clan. In the 14th century, a woman named Robena MacLeod was noted for her bravery and leadership during a time of conflict between rival clans.
During the Renaissance period, the name Robena gained popularity among the Scottish nobility. In the 16th century, Robena Douglas, a noblewoman from the influential Douglas family, was renowned for her artistic patronage and support of the arts.
In the 18th century, Robena Baillie, a Scottish poet and essayist, gained recognition for her literary works, which often explored themes of nature and the Scottish Highlands. Her poems were widely published and celebrated during her lifetime.
Another notable figure bearing the name Robena was Robena Carruthers, a 19th-century Scottish philanthropist and social reformer. She dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the working class and promoting educational opportunities for underprivileged children.
In the realm of Scottish folklore and mythology, Robena was sometimes associated with the figure of the "bright lady," a benevolent spirit believed to guide lost travelers and protect those in need. This connection further reinforced the name's symbolic ties to light and guidance.
While the name Robena has its roots in Scottish culture, it has since been embraced by various communities around the world, albeit with varying degrees of popularity. Its unique and melodic quality has made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with historical significance and a connection to nature's radiance.
People
Robena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Robena 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
Robena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Robena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Robena 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Robena a common name?
We classify Robena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 590 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Robena most popular?
The single biggest year for Robena was 1920, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Robena is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Robena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 237 people with the name Robena, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,427 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 Robena 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 Robena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Robena appears almost entirely female. Of the 233 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 Robena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Robena is Black at 41.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Robena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Robena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.4% (98 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 Robena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Robena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Robena 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 Robena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Robena 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 Robena 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 Robena?
Want to know how many people share the name Robena? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.