Baby name meaning

Elena

Shining light · Greek origin

Meaning & origin

Elena is a female name of Greek origin, meaning “Shining light”.

How popular is Elena?

In England & Wales, Elena ranked #147 among girls' names in 2024, with 342 babies given the name, close to its #155 of 2014. Its strongest year in the England & Wales series is 2018, when it reached #132.

In the United States, Elena was the #55 girls' name in the 2020 data — its best showing in the US series, which samples one year per decade from 1880.

Elena — popularity rank over timePopularity rank of the girls' name Elena over time, lower rank number = more popular. England and Wales annual rank 1996 to 2024. United States rank sampled one year per decade, 1950 to 2020.#1#10#100#1,00019501960197019801990200020102024US 1950: #501US 1960: #469US 1970: #433US 1980: #370US 1990: #352US 2000: #234US 2010: #164US 2020: #55England & Wales 2024: #147United StatesEngland & Wales
Elena’s popularity rank over time — England & Wales annual rank (solid) and United States rank sampled once per decade (dashed), #1 at the top. Log scale: each gridline is 10× the rank above it.
Elena in England & Wales: rank and births in sampled years, plus its peak year. Source: ONS ‘Baby names in England and Wales’.
YearE&W rankBirths
1996#202213
2000#176245
2005#210226
2010#193264
2015#146379
2018#132393
2020#140365
2024#147342

Famous Elenas

Names that go well with Elena

Lucas Gabriel Sarah

More on Elena

Greek for shining light, luminous, well-travelled and effortlessly elegant.

Elena: a name that means shining light — Elena as our Name of the Day.

Swipe & match on Elena in Settle