Sarena
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from the Spanish word "serena" meaning "serene".
Name Census estimates that about 2,342 living Americans carry the first name Sarena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sarena today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sarena births was 1999 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sarena. 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 Sarena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 146,351 Americans
Peak year
1999
97 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,872
Tracked since 1916
Census
Sarena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,072 people with the first name Sarena, which placed it at #7,381 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
#7,381
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,072 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sarena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sarena is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Sarena 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 Sarena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 1,029
- Black or African American15.4% · 319
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 310
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.7% · 222
- Two or more races8.5% · 177
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
Popularity
Sarena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sarena from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 688 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
Sarena 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 Sarena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sarenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Sarena, while Massachusetts, Colorado, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sarena
The name Sarena is believed to have originated from the ancient Persian language, with roots dating back to the 6th century BCE. It is derived from the Persian word "sar," meaning "head" or "chief," and the suffix "-ena," which denotes a feminine form. This combination suggests that the name Sarena could have initially signified a woman of high rank or authority.
In ancient Persia, the name was associated with strength, leadership, and nobility. It was often bestowed upon daughters of noble families or those born into the ruling class. The earliest recorded use of the name Sarena can be found in ancient Persian texts and inscriptions, although specific references are scarce due to the passage of time.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Sarena was a Persian princess who lived during the reign of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BCE. While details about her life are limited, her name has been etched into the stone carvings of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire, suggesting her significance within the royal family.
In the 9th century CE, a notable figure named Sarena emerged in the annals of Islamic history. She was a renowned poet and scholar from the city of Bukhara, now part of modern-day Uzbekistan. Her poetic works, which were widely celebrated during her lifetime, unfortunately did not withstand the test of time, but her name has been preserved in various historical accounts.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian noblewoman named Sarena di Montefeltro (1475-1543) gained recognition for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in the cultural and political affairs of the Duchy of Urbino. She was known for her intellect, artistic taste, and unwavering support for the advancement of learning and culture.
In the 19th century, a notable figure named Sarena Williamson (1852-1920) emerged as a pioneer in the field of women's education in the United States. Born in Virginia, she dedicated her life to establishing schools and advocating for equal educational opportunities for women, leaving a lasting impact on the advancement of women's rights in America.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Sarena was Sarena Navarro (1901-1985), a Mexican artist and activist. She was renowned for her vibrant paintings that depicted the lives and struggles of indigenous communities in Mexico. Navarro's works not only captured the cultural richness of her homeland but also served as a powerful voice for social justice and the preservation of traditional Mexican art forms.
People
Sarena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sarena 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
Sarena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sarena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,342 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sarena 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 146,351 US residents.
Is Sarena a common name?
We classify Sarena as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,471 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sarena most popular?
The single biggest year for Sarena was 1999, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sarena is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sarena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,072 people with the name Sarena, or 0.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,381 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 Sarena 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 Sarena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sarena appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,069 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 Sarena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sarena is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Hispanic (15.0%). 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 Sarena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sarena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (1,029 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 Sarena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sarena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sarena 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 Sarena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sarena 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 Sarena 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 Sarena as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.