Zena
Feminine name of Arabic origin, meaning "beautiful ornament".
Name Census estimates that about 4,103 living Americans carry the first name Zena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zena today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zena births was 1964 (222 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zena. 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 Zena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.1K
~ 1 in 83,537 Americans
Peak year
1964
222 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,273
Tracked since 1880
Census
Zena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,466 people with the first name Zena, which placed it at #4,261 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
#4,261
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,466 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zena is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.5%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Zena 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 Zena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.2% · 2,199
- Black or African American30.5% · 1,360
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 386
- Two or more races5.2% · 233
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 219
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 69
Popularity
Zena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,041 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Zena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zena 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 Zena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Zena, while Washington, Nevada, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zena
The name Zena is of Greek origin and has its roots in the ancient Greek language. It is believed to have derived from the Greek word "xenos," which means "stranger" or "foreigner." The name was likely given to children born outside of their homeland or to those who were considered outsiders or foreigners in a particular community.
In ancient Greek mythology, Zena was the name of a nymph who was said to be the daughter of the river god Inachos. She was revered for her beauty and grace and was often depicted in artwork and literature of that time.
The earliest recorded use of the name Zena can be traced back to the 5th century BCE, when it was found inscribed on ancient Greek pottery and other artifacts. It was a relatively uncommon name during this period but gained popularity in certain regions of ancient Greece.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Zena was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She was a follower of the Cynic school of philosophy and was known for her teachings on virtue and simplicity.
In the 1st century CE, a woman named Zena was mentioned in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus. She was described as a woman of great strength and courage who played a pivotal role in a revolt against the Roman Empire.
During the Byzantine Empire, the name Zena was associated with several notable women, including a princess named Zena Comnena, who lived in the 12th century. She was known for her intelligence and her patronage of the arts.
In more recent history, there have been several notable individuals named Zena. Zena Horlick was a British actress and singer who lived from 1892 to 1985 and was known for her performances in the early 20th century.
Another notable Zena was Zena Blaustein, an American philanthropist and social activist who lived from 1900 to 1963. She was a passionate advocate for women's rights and played a key role in the establishment of several organizations dedicated to improving the lives of women and children.
Zena Vounouki was a Greek actress who lived from 1922 to 2008 and was renowned for her performances on the stage and in film. She was a celebrated figure in the Greek cultural scene and was honored with numerous awards for her contributions to the arts.
Zena Blackemore was an American civil rights activist who lived from 1923 to 2005. She was a prominent figure in the struggle for racial equality and worked tirelessly to advance the cause of civil rights in the United States.
People
Zena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zena 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 83,537 US residents.
Is Zena a common name?
We classify Zena as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,911 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zena most popular?
The single biggest year for Zena was 1964, when 222 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zena is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,466 people with the name Zena, or 1.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,261 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 Zena 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 Zena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zena leans strongly female. 4,395 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 70 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Zena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zena is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.5%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Zena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.2% (2,199 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 Zena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zena 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 Zena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zena 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 Zena 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 Zena?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.