Selenia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "moon goddess" or "lunar deity".
Name Census estimates that about 478 living Americans carry the first name Selenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Selenia today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Selenia births was 1998 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Selenia. 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.
People living today
478
~ 1 in 717,059 Americans
Peak year
1998
29 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,945
Tracked since 1959
Census
Selenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 633 people with the first name Selenia, which placed it at #17,430 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
#17,430
National first-name rank
People counted
633
633 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
78.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selenia is Hispanic at 78.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.4%) and Black (7.0%). 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 Selenia 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 Selenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino78.0% · 494
- White11.4% · 72
- Black or African American7.0% · 44
- Two or more races2.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Selenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Selenia 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 133 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
Selenia 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 Selenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Selenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Selenia, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Selenia
The name Selenia has its roots in the ancient Greek language, originating from the word "selene," which means "moon." It is believed to have been used as early as the 5th century BCE in ancient Greece, where the moon played a significant role in mythology and celestial worship.
In Greek mythology, Selene was the personification of the moon, a beautiful goddess who sailed across the night sky in a chariot drawn by two white horses. Her name was often invoked in poetry, art, and religious rituals that celebrated the cyclical nature of the moon and its influence on the earth.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Selenia is found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos around 600 BCE. In her poetry, she made references to a woman named Selenia, though little is known about the individual's identity or significance.
Throughout history, the name Selenia has been borne by several notable figures, including Selenia Gallini (1518-1592), an Italian painter and engraver who was renowned for her religious works during the Renaissance period. Another prominent bearer of the name was Selenia Zouravliova (1795-1866), a Russian noble and philanthropist who established several schools and orphanages in the 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Selenia Ambrosio (1856-1918) was an Italian writer and educator who authored several books on education and child development. Her works were widely read and influential in her time.
The name Selenia also found its way into the world of science, with Selenia Pasteur (1867-1949), a French astronomer and the first woman to be appointed as a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She made significant contributions to the study of variable stars and was recognized for her pioneering work in the field of astrophysics.
Lastly, Selenia Ramirez (1904-1983) was a Mexican artist and activist who played a vital role in the Mexican muralism movement of the 20th century. Her vibrant and socially conscious murals adorned public buildings throughout Mexico, earning her recognition as one of the most influential artists of her time.
While the name Selenia has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and has been borne by notable individuals throughout history, its usage has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, with periods of popularity alternating with periods of relative obscurity.
People
Selenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Selenia 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
Selenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Selenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 478 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Selenia 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 717,059 US residents.
Is Selenia a common name?
We classify Selenia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 501 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Selenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Selenia was 1998, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Selenia is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Selenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 633 people with the name Selenia, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,430 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 Selenia 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 Selenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Selenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 627 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 Selenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Selenia is Hispanic at 78.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.4%) and Black (7.0%). 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 Selenia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Selenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (494 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 Selenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Selenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Selenia 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 Selenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Selenia 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 Selenia 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 Selenia?
You can see how many people have the name Selenia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.