Find out how popular the last name Lena is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lena.

Lena, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lena surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lena in America

Lena is the 25381st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lena surname appeared 975 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lena.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lena to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lena

The surname LENA has its origins in medieval Spain, where it first emerged in the 8th century during the Moorish conquests of the Iberian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "lina," which means "tender" or "soft," and was likely used as a descriptive nickname or personal epithet.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LENA surname can be found in the 11th century Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of manuscripts and documents from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. In these documents, the name appears as "Leina," which is believed to be a variant spelling of the original Arabic word.

As the name spread throughout Spain and into other parts of Europe, it underwent various transformations and adaptations. In France, for example, it was often rendered as "Laine" or "Lena," while in Italy it took the form "Lena" or "Leni."

One notable bearer of the LENA surname was Pedro Lena, a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Lena is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot on the island of Puerto Rico.

Another historical figure with the LENA surname was Juan de Lena, a 16th century Spanish painter and architect who worked in the Renaissance style. He was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of several churches and monasteries in Seville and the surrounding region.

In the 19th century, Antonio Lena was a prominent Italian painter and sculptor who specialized in religious works and is best known for his sculptures adorning the Duomo di Milano.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LENA surname in England can be found in the 1086 Domesday Book, where it appears as "Lena" in reference to a landowner in Lincolnshire.

Another notable bearer of the LENA surname was Jesús Lena, a Cuban revolutionary and guerrilla fighter who participated in the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in the late 1950s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lena

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lena.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lena was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lena has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lena was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lena, please contact us.

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