Urena
A feminine name derived from the Spanish word for nettle plant.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Urena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Urena today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Urena births was 1969 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Urena. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Urena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1969
5 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1969 SSA rank
#8,654
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Urena: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Urena 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 Urena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Urena
The given name Urena is believed to have its origins in the Spanish language, with roots that can be traced back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "ureña," which refers to a type of small shrub or bush found in certain regions of Spain and Latin America.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Urena can be found in historical documents from the Spanish colonial era in the Americas. It is believed that the name was brought to the New World by Spanish settlers and explorers, who may have named their children after the ureña plant they encountered in their new surroundings.
While the name Urena does not appear to have any direct connections to major religious texts or ancient scriptures, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Urena de la Cruz (1560-1628), a Spanish nun and mystic who lived in the city of Valladolid during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Another prominent figure with the name Urena was Julio Urena Smenjaud (1870-1949), a Venezuelan poet and diplomat who served as his country's ambassador to several nations, including the United States and Spain. His poetry collections, such as "Rimas de Ensueño" and "Voces de la Soledad," were widely acclaimed and helped to establish him as a significant figure in Venezuelan literature.
In the field of politics, Urena Moreno (1899-1983) was a notable figure. He was a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice during the Second Spanish Republic in the 1930s.
The name Urena also found its way into the world of sports, with Urena Peña (1920-2002), a Cuban baseball player who played for several teams in the Negro Leagues during the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his exceptional defensive skills as an outfielder and was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Finally, in the realm of academia, Urena Lecuona (1910-1992) was a prominent Cuban historian and anthropologist. She made significant contributions to the study of Afro-Cuban culture and was recognized for her work in preserving and documenting the traditions and heritage of the Afro-Cuban community.
People
Urena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Urena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Urena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Urena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Urena 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Urena a common name?
We classify Urena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Urena most popular?
The single biggest year for Urena was 1969, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Urena is about 62 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 Urena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Urena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Urena 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 Urena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Urena 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 Urena 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 common is the name Urena?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Urena at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.