Lenae
Of Greek origin, meaning "woman from Hellas" or "woman of Greek descent".
Name Census estimates that about 738 living Americans carry the first name Lenae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lenae today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lenae births was 1999 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lenae. 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 Lenae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
738
~ 1 in 464,437 Americans
Peak year
1999
25 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,669
Tracked since 1951
Census
Lenae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 699 people with the first name Lenae, which placed it at #16,219 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
#16,219
National first-name rank
People counted
699
699 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lenae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenae is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Black (27.5%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Lenae 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 Lenae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.1% · 378
- Black or African American27.5% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 62
- Two or more races5.9% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
Popularity
Lenae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lenae from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 172 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lenae 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 Lenae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lenaes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lenae
The name Lenae is believed to have originated from the Greek language in ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "lenos," which means "smooth" or "calm." The name could have been given to a child with a gentle and tranquil demeanor.
In Greek mythology, Lenaean was an epithet of the god Dionysus, associated with the festival of the winepress. The Lenaean festival was one of the oldest and most important celebrations in ancient Athens, held in honor of Dionysus during the month of Gamelion (January/February).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lenae can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who mentioned a woman named Lenae in his work "Parallel Lives" from the late 1st century AD.
In the 3rd century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Lenae who was executed in Caesarea Maritima (modern-day Israel) during the Diocletian persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
In the Middle Ages, Lenae was the name of a 12th-century Benedictine abbess who presided over the convent of St. Mary's in Rheims, France. She is remembered for her piety and leadership in the religious community.
During the Renaissance period, Lenae Rubenio was an Italian poet and scholar who lived in the late 15th century. She was known for her poetic works and her contributions to the revival of classical learning.
In the 17th century, Lenae van der Voort was a Dutch painter who specialized in still-life paintings of flowers and fruit. She was active in the city of Leiden and her works can be found in various art galleries and museums.
While the name Lenae has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and eras, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and cultures.
People
Lenae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lenae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lenae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lenae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lenae 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 464,437 US residents.
Is Lenae a common name?
We classify Lenae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 791 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lenae most popular?
The single biggest year for Lenae was 1999, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lenae is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lenae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 699 people with the name Lenae, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,219 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 Lenae 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 Lenae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lenae appears almost entirely female. Of the 698 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 Lenae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lenae is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Black (27.5%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Lenae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lenae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (378 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 Lenae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lenae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lenae 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 Lenae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lenae 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 Lenae 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 Lenae?
Find out how many people share the name Lenae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.