Rena
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "advice" or "counsel".
Name Census estimates that about 17,671 living Americans carry the first name Rena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rena today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rena births was 1916 (578 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rena. 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 Rena with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Rena is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 123 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 19,396 Americans
Peak year
1916
578 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1990 SSA rank
#2,705
Tracked since 1880
Census
Rena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 20,230 people with the first name Rena, which placed it at #1,590 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
#1,590
National first-name rank
People counted
20K
20,230 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rena is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Rena 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 Rena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.4% · 12,622
- Black or African American17.6% · 3,562
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 1,599
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 1,171
- Two or more races3.8% · 759
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 517
Gender
Gender distribution for Rena
Out of the 39,171 babies given the name Rena since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Rena as a male name
- Ranked #7,904 in 1990
- 6 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1960 (11 births)
Rena as a female name
- Ranked #2,705 in 2024
- 64 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1962 (575 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rena appears almost entirely female. Of the 20,224 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Rena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 4,752 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rena 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 Rena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Renas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Rena, while Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 581 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rena
The name Rena is a feminine given name with origins tracing back to ancient Greece and Latin. It derives from the Greek word "rhene," meaning "lamb" or "ewe." In Latin, the word "rena" means "kidney." The name was initially used as a pet form or diminutive of various Greek and Latin names containing the "ren" sound, such as Irene or Renata.
During the Middle Ages, the name Rena gained popularity across Europe, particularly in regions influenced by Greek and Latin cultures. It was commonly used in Italy, France, and other parts of Western Europe. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 11th and 12th centuries, appearing in various historical documents and records.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Rena was Rena of Provins, a French mystic and anchoress who lived in the late 12th century. She was known for her spiritual visions and writings, which influenced religious thought during her time.
In the 13th century, Rena Burgundio, an Italian scholar and translator, made significant contributions to the translation of ancient Greek texts into Latin. Her work helped preserve and disseminate classical knowledge during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure was Rena da Feltre, an Italian painter and illuminator active in the early 15th century. She is renowned for her intricate and beautifully illuminated manuscripts, which were highly prized by wealthy patrons.
In the 16th century, Rena Piccolomini, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, played a significant role in supporting and promoting Renaissance artists and intellectuals. She was part of the influential Piccolomini family and was known for her patronage of Michelangelo and other luminaries of the era.
During the 17th century, Rena Molina, a Spanish playwright and poet, gained recognition for her literary works, which explored themes of love, passion, and societal norms. Her plays and poems were widely acclaimed and performed in her lifetime.
While the name Rena has maintained a presence throughout history, it has ebbed and flowed in popularity over time, often influenced by cultural trends and regional preferences. Today, it continues to be used as a feminine given name across various parts of the world, carrying the legacy of its ancient roots and historical significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rena
People
Rena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,671 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rena 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 19,396 US residents.
Is Rena a common name?
We classify Rena as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39,171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rena most popular?
The single biggest year for Rena was 1916, when 578 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rena is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 20,230 people with the name Rena, or 6.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,590 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 Rena 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 Rena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rena appears almost entirely female. Of the 20,224 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Rena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rena is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Rena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.4% (12,622 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 Rena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rena a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Rena 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 Rena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rena 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 Rena 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 have Rena as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.