Vilena
A feminine name of Old Norse origin meaning "will" or "resolute".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Vilena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vilena today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vilena births was 1928 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vilena. 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 Vilena. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1928
6 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1978 SSA rank
#11,422
Tracked since 1916
Census
Vilena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 108 people with the first name Vilena, which placed it at #52,273 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
#52,273
National first-name rank
People counted
108
108 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vilena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vilena is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Vilena 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 Vilena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.2% · 65
- Black or African American30.6% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Vilena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vilena from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Vilena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vilena 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 Vilena 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 Vilena
The name Vilena is believed to have originated from the Slavic languages, particularly in the region of Eastern Europe. It is derived from the Russian word "vila," which refers to a supernatural female being in Slavic mythology, often associated with nature, forests, and water sources.
In ancient Slavic folklore, vilas were depicted as beautiful, ethereal beings with long flowing hair and wings. They were revered for their connection to the natural world and were believed to possess mystical powers. The name Vilena likely emerged as a way to honor or pay tribute to these mythological creatures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vilena can be traced back to the 13th century. In the epic poem "The Tale of Igor's Campaign," written in Old East Slavic, there is a character named Vilena, who is described as a powerful and enigmatic figure.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vilena. One of the earliest was Vilena of Bohemia (c. 1355 - 1382), a Bohemian princess and member of the Přemyslid dynasty. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Church.
Another prominent figure was Vilena Chernodrinska (1868 - 1926), a Bulgarian revolutionary and feminist activist. She played a significant role in the struggle for women's rights and education in Bulgaria during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the realm of literature, Vilena Lukić (1923 - 2022) was a renowned Serbian poet and translator. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, earning her numerous accolades and awards throughout her career.
Vilena Khlebnikova (1915 - 1995) was a Russian artist and painter, known for her vibrant and expressive works that celebrated the beauty of the Russian countryside and its people.
Lastly, Vilena Bîrladeanu (1920 - 1988) was a Moldovan sculptor and ceramist, renowned for her intricate and highly detailed ceramic sculptures that depicted traditional Moldovan life and culture.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Vilena throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and leaving a lasting legacy.
People
Vilena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vilena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vilena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vilena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vilena 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Vilena a common name?
We classify Vilena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vilena most popular?
The single biggest year for Vilena was 1928, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vilena is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vilena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 108 people with the name Vilena, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,273 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 Vilena 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 Vilena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vilena appears almost entirely female. Of the 114 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Vilena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vilena is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Vilena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vilena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.2% (65 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 Vilena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vilena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vilena 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 Vilena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vilena 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 Vilena 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 are named Vilena?
Find out how many people share the name Vilena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.