girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Elena

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #42 Trend ↑ Rising 21%

Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Elena, cognate to English Helen.

Rank 2025
#42
among girls · ↑4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,842
named Elena · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 332
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
4,842 babies
All-time total
108,117
#356 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Elena popularity over time

108,117 babies have been named Elena since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 74 – 74 7 – #641
1890s 200 – 200 20 +170% #561
1900s 376 – 376 38 +88% #476
1910s 1,335 – 1,335 134 +255% #445
1920s 2,169 – 2,169 217 +62% #429
1930s 1,638 7 1,645 165 -24% #456
1940s 2,247 – 2,247 225 +37% #478
1950s 3,454 – 3,454 345 +54% #444
1960s 4,744 – 4,744 474 +37% #399
1970s 5,281 13 5,294 529 +12% #360
1980s 6,300 43 6,343 634 +20% #328
1990s 9,500 17 9,517 952 +50% #212
2000s 15,699 13 15,712 1,571 +65% #187
2010s 28,804 5 28,809 2,881 +83% #60
2020s (to 2025) 26,192 6 26,198 4,366 +52% #42

Where Elena is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 5,001 3.11 #40
2027 5,146 3.20 #38
2028 5,273 3.28 #37
2029 5,383 3.35 #35
2030 5,478 3.41 #34

Where Elena is most popular

Girls named Elena per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.74 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Elena born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 149 6.13 +123%
Rhode Island 75 5.99 +118%
Hawaii 66 5.76 +110%
Alaska 49 5.69 +107%
Wyoming 24 5.63 +105%
Delaware 58 5.11 +86%
District of Columbia 60 5.06 +84%
Nevada 234 5.04 +84%
Arizona 685 4.88 +78%
Texas 3,590 4.46 +63%
California 3,652 4.34 +58%
Illinois 903 3.94 +44%
Connecticut 226 3.88 +42%
Idaho 129 3.86 +40%
Oregon 251 3.85 +40%
New Hampshire 69 3.74 +36%
Colorado 411 3.68 +34%
Florida 1,553 3.63 +32%
Oklahoma 267 3.63 +32%
Washington 516 3.57 +30%
Nebraska 124 3.45 +26%
Massachusetts 408 3.37 +23%
Wisconsin 334 3.24 +18%
Utah 263 3.16 +15%
Kansas 176 3.05 +11%
Virginia 512 3.00 +9%
New Jersey 529 2.93 +7%
North Carolina 664 2.92 +6%
North Dakota 38 2.89 +5%
Indiana 405 2.88 +5%
Iowa 160 2.74 ≈ national
Michigan 497 2.73 ≈ national
Maryland 288 2.72 ≈ national
South Carolina 243 2.70 ≈ national
Vermont 13 2.68 ≈ national
West Virginia 70 2.67 ≈ national
Kentucky 225 2.63 ≈ national
Arkansas 139 2.63 ≈ national
New York 1,031 2.60 -5%
Pennsylvania 611 2.58 -6%
Georgia 568 2.50 -9%
Tennessee 387 2.44 -11%
Missouri 288 2.39 -13%
Ohio 565 2.38 -13%
South Dakota 33 2.31 -16%
Minnesota 245 2.27 -17%
Alabama 186 1.98 -28%
Maine 29 1.87 -32%
Louisiana 147 1.68 -39%
Mississippi 69 1.47 -46%
Montana 13 0.960 -65%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Elena

Elena is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #42 in 2025 with 4,836 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 108,117 American babies have been named Elena. Its peak came in 2025, when 4,842 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Elena stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Elena?

The median living Elena is about 13 years old; half are between 5 and 30. An estimated 100 thousand people named Elena are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Elena year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 4,836 #42 6 #11,043
2024 4,577 #46 – –
2023 4,276 #47 – –
2022 4,290 #49 – –
2021 4,283 #53 – –
2020 3,930 #55 – –
2019 3,949 #60 – –
2018 3,776 #67 – –
2017 3,882 #68 5 #12,840
2016 3,190 #94 – –
2015 2,898 #106 – –
2014 2,616 #121 – –
2013 2,393 #132 – –
2012 2,275 #139 – –
2011 1,939 #160 – –
2010 1,886 #164 – –
2009 1,685 #195 – –
2008 1,627 #209 – –
2007 1,744 #192 – –
2006 1,875 #187 – –
2005 1,604 #217 6 #10,476
2004 1,584 #215 7 #9,211
2003 1,464 #222 – –
2002 1,358 #233 – –
2001 1,392 #228 – –
2000 1,366 #234 – –
1995 947 #293 – –
1990 756 #352 5 #8,515
1985 726 #328 7 #5,319
1980 633 #370 – –
1975 521 #389 – –
1970 509 #433 – –
1965 455 #443 – –
1960 431 #469 – –
1955 408 #444 – –
1950 259 #501 – –
1945 216 #494 – –
1940 135 #599 – –
1935 130 #561 – –
1930 219 #456 – –
1925 213 #479 – –
1920 178 #530 – –
1915 164 #482 – –
1910 65 #505 – –
1905 34 #604 – –
1900 23 #765 – –
1895 25 #612 – –
1890 11 #838 – –
1885 7 #861 – –
1880 8 #641 – –

Famous people named Elena

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Elena Kagan Elena Kagan American Supreme Court associate justice (born 1960) Contemporary
  2. 2 Elena Ferrante Pseudonymous Italian writer b. 1943 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Elena Ceaușescu Elena Ceaușescu Wife of Nicolae Ceaușescu (1919–1989) 1916–1989 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Elena Anaya Elena Anaya Spanish actress b. 1975 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Elena Mukhina Elena Mukhina Soviet gymnast (1960–2006) Contemporary
  6. 6 Elena of Montenegro Elena of Montenegro Queen of Italy from 1900 to 1946 1871–1952 · 19th century
  7. 7 Elena Dementieva Elena Dementieva Russian tennis player (born 1981) Contemporary
  8. 8 Elena Berezhnaya Elena Berezhnaya Russian pair skater b. 1977 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Elena Glinskaya Elena Glinskaya Grand princess of Moscow from 1526 to 1533 1510–1538 · 16th century
  10. 10 Elena Stasova Elena Stasova Soviet politician (1873–1966) 19th century
  11. 11 Elena Poniatowska Elena Poniatowska Mexican journalist and author (b. 1932) Contemporary
  12. 12 Elena Sofia Ricci Elena Sofia Ricci Italian actress b. 1962 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Elena Vesnina Elena Vesnina Russian tennis player (born 1986) Contemporary
  14. 14 Elena Temnikova Elena Temnikova Russian singer (born 1985) Contemporary
  15. 15 Elena Cornaro Piscopia Elena Cornaro Piscopia Venetian philosopher (1646–1684) 17th century
  16. 16 Elena Yakovleva Elena Yakovleva Russian actress (born 1961) Contemporary
  17. 17 Elena Gheorghe Elena Gheorghe Romanian singer (born 1985) Contemporary
  18. 18 Elena Likhovtseva Elena Likhovtseva Russian tennis player b. 1975 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Elena Obraztsova Elena Obraztsova Soviet and Russian opera singer 1939–2015 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Elena Risteska Elena Risteska Musical artist b. 1986 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Elena, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Elena?

The median living Elena is about 13 years old. Half of all living Elenas are between 5 and 30 years old.

How many people named Elena are alive today?

An estimated 100 thousand people named Elena are alive in the United States, based on 108,117 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Elena mean?

Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Elena, cognate to English Helen.

How popular is the name Elena in 2025?

Elena ranked #42 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,836 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Elena?

108,117 babies have been named Elena in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Elena most popular?

Elena peaked in 2025, when 4,842 newborns received the name.

Is Elena a boy or girl name?

Elena is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Elena rising or falling?

Elena is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Elena become more popular?

Elena is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 5,478 girls named Elena in 2030, which would rank around #34. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Elena?

Well-known people named Elena include Elena Kagan (judge), Elena Ferrante (writer), Elena Ceaușescu (politician).

Names like Elena

Names that sound and feel close to Elena: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Elena with similar names → More names starting with E →