Nena
A feminine diminutive of the Spanish names Ana or Nana.
Name Census estimates that about 3,277 living Americans carry the first name Nena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nena today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nena births was 1963 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nena. 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 Nena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 104,594 Americans
Peak year
1963
112 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,018
Tracked since 1880
Census
Nena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,611 people with the first name Nena, which placed it at #4,163 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
#4,163
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,611 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nena is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and Hispanic (17.1%). 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 Nena 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 Nena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.5% · 2,190
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.3% · 796
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 787
- Black or African American12.7% · 586
- Two or more races4.3% · 197
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 55
Popularity
Nena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 827 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nena 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 Nena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nena, while Washington, Virginia, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nena
The name Nena has its origins in the Spanish language, and it is a diminutive form of the name Ines. The name Ines itself is derived from the ancient Greek name Agnes, which means "pure" or "chaste." The name Nena gained popularity in Spain during the Middle Ages and was commonly used as a pet name or nickname for girls named Ines.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nena can be found in the works of renowned Spanish poet and playwright Lope de Vega, who lived from 1562 to 1635. In his play "Fuente Ovejuna," one of the characters is named Nena, which suggests that the name was in use during the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Nena. One of the most famous was Nena Quintana Haedo (1904-1994), a Cuban singer and actress who was a prominent figure in the Cuban cultural scene during the mid-20th century. She was known for her performances in various theatrical productions and played a significant role in promoting Cuban music and culture.
Another notable Nena was Nena Daconte (1900-1993), a Spanish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions. She was particularly celebrated for her performances in zarzuelas, a traditional Spanish lyrical genre that combines music, drama, and dance.
In the realm of literature, Nena Rocamora (1900-1976) was a Spanish writer and poet who was part of the Generation of '27, a group of influential Spanish poets and writers that emerged in the 1920s. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience, and she was recognized for her lyrical and evocative writing style.
Nena Ariston (1892-1965) was a Greek singer and actress who made significant contributions to the Greek operetta and musical theater scene in the early 20th century. She was celebrated for her performances in various operettas and was considered a pioneer in the development of modern Greek musical theater.
Nena Benavidez (1925-2016) was a Mexican-American civil rights activist and educator who dedicated her life to promoting educational opportunities for Hispanic students. She played a crucial role in establishing bilingual education programs and advocating for the rights of Spanish-speaking students in the United States.
People
Nena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,277 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nena 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 104,594 US residents.
Is Nena a common name?
We classify Nena as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nena most popular?
The single biggest year for Nena was 1963, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nena is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,611 people with the name Nena, or 1.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,163 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 Nena 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 Nena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nena leans strongly female. 4,559 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 49 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Nena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nena is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and Hispanic (17.1%). 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 Nena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.5% (2,190 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 Nena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nena 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 Nena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nena 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 Nena 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 Americans are named Nena?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.