Syenna
A feminine name of English origin possibly relating to the reddish-brown earth pigment.
Name Census estimates that about 170 living Americans carry the first name Syenna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Syenna today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Syenna births was 2008 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Syenna. 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 Syenna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
170
~ 1 in 2,016,202 Americans
Peak year
2008
14 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,346
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Syenna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Syenna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Syenna 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 Syenna 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 Syenna
The name Syenna is believed to have originated from the Arabic word "sinnaar," which means "desert" or "wilderness." It is a variation of the name Sienna, which is derived from the Italian city of Siena, known for its red clay soil and terracotta architecture.
The earliest recorded use of the name Syenna can be traced back to the late 19th century in parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It was not a widely popular name but was used occasionally by Arabic-speaking communities.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Syenna was Syenna al-Hamidi, an Egyptian poet and scholar who lived in the early 10th century. Her works focused on themes of love, nature, and the human experience, and she was renowned for her elegant and evocative writing style.
In the 12th century, there was a notable figure named Syenna al-Andalusi, a mathematician and astronomer from Andalusia, Spain. She made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and was one of the few women in her time to achieve recognition in the sciences.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian painter named Syenna Donatelli (1459-1513) gained prominence for her vibrant and expressive works depicting scenes from Greek mythology and biblical stories. Her use of rich, earthy tones and her mastery of chiaroscuro technique were widely admired.
In the 19th century, Syenna Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British social reformer and pioneer of modern nursing. She is best known for her work during the Crimean War, where she transformed nursing practices and established principles of sanitary care that saved countless lives.
More recently, Syenna Gomez (born 1992) is an American actress and singer of Mexican descent. She rose to fame as a child star on the Disney Channel and has since transitioned to successful careers in both film and music, becoming a prominent figure in popular culture.
People
Syenna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Syenna 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
Syenna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Syenna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 170 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Syenna 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 2,016,202 US residents.
Is Syenna a common name?
We classify Syenna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 172 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Syenna most popular?
The single biggest year for Syenna was 2008, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Syenna is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Syenna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Syenna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Syenna 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 Syenna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Syenna 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 Syenna 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Syenna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.