Delena
A feminine name of uncertain etymology, potentially derived from Helen.
Name Census estimates that about 1,597 living Americans carry the first name Delena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delena today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delena births was 1967 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delena. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 214,624 Americans
Peak year
1967
58 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,691
Tracked since 1902
Census
Delena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,571 people with the first name Delena, which placed it at #9,023 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
#9,023
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,571 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delena is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (10.7%). 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 Delena 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 Delena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.3% · 948
- Black or African American18.0% · 282
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 168
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 74
- Two or more races4.4% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 30
Popularity
Delena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delena from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 402 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delena 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 Delena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Delena, while Arkansas, Ohio, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delena
The name Delena is believed to have its origins in the Greek language. It is a combination of the Greek words "delos," meaning "clear" or "visible," and "lene," meaning "soft" or "gentle." This suggests that the name Delena may have been initially used to describe someone with a clear and gentle demeanor.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to a minor goddess named Delena who was associated with the moon and its soft, luminous glow. While not a prominent figure, her name may have contributed to the popularity and usage of the name Delena in the region.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Delena can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire, where it was used among the Greek population during the Middle Ages. One notable figure from this period was Delena of Constantinople, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Delina, Deleen, and Delene. In the 16th century, there are records of a Delena Castellano, an Italian noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and her influential salon.
During the Renaissance, the name gained popularity in certain regions of Europe. One prominent individual was Delena Wilkinson, an English painter and portraitist who lived in the late 17th century and was celebrated for her depictions of aristocratic families.
In the 19th century, the name Delena appeared in literature, with one of the most famous examples being the character Delena Dene in the novel "Adam Bede" by George Eliot, published in 1859. This fictional character was portrayed as a strong-willed and independent woman, which may have contributed to the name's appeal during that era.
Another noteworthy figure was Delena Graves, an American suffragette and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century. She was born in 1870 and dedicated her life to advocating for women's rights and equality.
Throughout history, the name Delena has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, writers, activists, and scholars. While it may not be among the most common names today, its rich linguistic and cultural heritage continues to make it a unique and intriguing choice.
People
Delena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Delena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,597 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delena 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 214,624 US residents.
Is Delena a common name?
We classify Delena as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delena most popular?
The single biggest year for Delena was 1967, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delena is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,571 people with the name Delena, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,023 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 Delena 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 Delena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delena appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,561 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Delena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delena is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (10.7%). 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 Delena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.3% (948 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 Delena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delena 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 Delena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delena 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 Delena 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 common is the name Delena?
See how many people have the name Delena on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.