Selina
Feminine form of the Latin name Selene, meaning "moon".
Name Census estimates that about 16,661 living Americans carry the first name Selina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Selina today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Selina births was 1995 (704 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Selina. 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 Selina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
17K
~ 1 in 20,572 Americans
Peak year
1995
704 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,311
Tracked since 1880
Census
Selina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 16,347 people with the first name Selina, which placed it at #1,812 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
#1,812
National first-name rank
People counted
16K
16,347 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
37.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selina is Hispanic at 37.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%). 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 Selina 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 Selina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino37.4% · 6,113
- White28.2% · 4,610
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.6% · 2,549
- Black or African American13.9% · 2,279
- Two or more races3.8% · 624
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 172
Popularity
Selina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Selina from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,174 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
Selina 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 Selina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Selinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Selina, while Kansas, Hawaii, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 353 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Selina
The name Selina has its origins in the ancient Greek language, derived from the word "selene," which means "moon." It is a feminine form of the name Selenus, which was a name given to the moon goddess in Greek mythology.
In ancient times, the name Selina was used in various regions of Greece and the surrounding areas influenced by Greek culture. It was a popular name among the Greeks, who revered the moon and its symbolism of femininity, fertility, and the cycles of nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Selina can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. He mentioned a woman named Selina in his work "The Histories," suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Selina. One of the earliest was Selina, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791), an English noblewoman and notable leader of the Evangelical Revival movement in the 18th century.
Another prominent figure was Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791), a wealthy English philanthropist and supporter of the Methodist movement. She founded several chapels and played a significant role in the religious landscape of 18th-century England.
In the literary world, Selina Trimmer (1741-1786) was an English writer and editor who authored several educational books for children, including "The Guardian of Education" and "The Family Magazine."
The name Selina also gained prominence in the arts, with Selina Dolaro (1915-1997), an Italian actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions in the mid-20th century.
In more recent times, Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, is a famous fictional character from the Batman comics and movies, adding a modern twist to the name's association with feline grace and mystery.
People
Selina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Selina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Selina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Selina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,661 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Selina 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 20,572 US residents.
Is Selina a common name?
We classify Selina as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19,045 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Selina most popular?
The single biggest year for Selina was 1995, when 704 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Selina is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Selina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 16,347 people with the name Selina, or 5.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,812 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 Selina 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 Selina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Selina appears almost entirely female. Of the 16,344 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 Selina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selina is Hispanic at 37.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%). 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 Selina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Selina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.4% (6,113 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 Selina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Selina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Selina 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 Selina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Selina 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 Selina 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 Selina?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.