Salena
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "calm, placid".
Name Census estimates that about 4,659 living Americans carry the first name Salena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Salena today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Salena births was 1995 (197 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Salena. 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 Salena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.7K
~ 1 in 73,568 Americans
Peak year
1995
197 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,867
Tracked since 1889
Census
Salena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,175 people with the first name Salena, which placed it at #4,461 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
#4,461
National first-name rank
People counted
4.2K
4,175 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Salena is White at 40.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (21.3%). 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 Salena 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 Salena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.5% · 1,691
- Hispanic or Latino22.0% · 918
- Black or African American21.3% · 891
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.3% · 347
- Two or more races6.1% · 255
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 73
Popularity
Salena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Salena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,413 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
Salena 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 Salena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Salenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, Michigan, Texas recorded the most babies named Salena, while South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Salena
The name Salena is believed to have its origins in Ancient Greece, where it was derived from the Greek word "selene," meaning "moon." It is thought to have been used as a name in the region as early as the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Selene was the goddess of the moon, often depicted as a beautiful woman riding a chariot drawn by horses or bulls. The name Salena was likely a variation of this ancient goddess's name, possibly used to honor or invoke her divine influence.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Salena was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. She was a follower of Plato and is mentioned in some of his dialogues, although little is known about her life beyond her association with the great philosopher.
In the Middle Ages, the name Salena appeared in various European regions, particularly in Italy and Spain. It is believed that the name was introduced to these areas through the influence of Greek culture and the spread of Christianity, which often incorporated elements of ancient mythology.
One notable figure with the name Salena was an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 15th century. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of Renaissance artists and writers, including the famous sculptor and painter, Michelangelo.
In the 16th century, a Spanish woman named Salena de Ávila was a prominent figure in the Catholic Church. She was known for her religious devotion and her work in establishing convents and providing aid to the poor.
Another historical figure with the name Salena was a French composer and musician who lived in the 18th century. She was renowned for her skills as a harpsichordist and her compositions for the instrument, which were widely performed in the salons of Paris.
In the 19th century, a British writer named Salena Browning gained recognition for her poetry and her work as a social reformer, advocating for women's rights and education.
While the name Salena has ancient roots and a rich history, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout the centuries, with only a handful of notable individuals bearing this name. Its connection to the Greek goddess of the moon and its link to various cultural and artistic figures have contributed to its enduring mystique and appeal.
People
Salena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Salena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Salena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Salena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,659 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Salena 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 73,568 US residents.
Is Salena a common name?
We classify Salena as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Salena most popular?
The single biggest year for Salena was 1995, when 197 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Salena is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Salena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,175 people with the name Salena, or 1.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,461 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 Salena 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 Salena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Salena appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,177 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Salena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Salena is White at 40.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (21.3%). 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 Salena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Salena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.5% (1,691 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 Salena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Salena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Salena 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 Salena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Salena 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 Salena 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 share the name Salena?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.