UK girl's name
Jena
A feminine name of German origin meaning "Giver of life".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Jena is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Jena popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3695, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2003, with 28 births.
This profile covers 305 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 21% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 377 living people in the UK are called Jena. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Jena ranked #3695 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2003, when 28 girls were registered as Jena.
- • Jena ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #439 in 2008.
- • About 377 living people in the UK are estimated to have Jena as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3695
2024
Births in 2024
6
Latest year
Peak year
2003
28 births
Estimated living
377
2026
Meaning
What does Jena mean?
The name Jena has its origins in various languages and cultures, with different possible meanings and etymologies. One interpretation suggests that it is derived from the ancient Greek name "Gena," which means "born" or "descended from." This name was used in ancient Greece and has ties to Greek mythology.
Another theory traces the name's roots to the Sanskrit word "jna," meaning "knowledge" or "enlightenment." This connection links Jena to the spiritual and philosophical traditions of ancient India, where names often carried deep symbolic significance.
In the Slavic languages, such as Russian and Czech, the name Jena is a diminutive form of the name "Yevgeniya," which itself is derived from the Greek name "Eugenia," meaning "well-born" or "noble." This suggests that the name Jena may have been associated with aristocratic or upper-class families in Slavic cultures.
Historically, the name Jena has been recorded in various forms across different cultures and time periods. In ancient Roman texts, there are mentions of individuals named "Gena" or "Genasius," which may be related to the Greek root of the name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jena was Jena of Semendria, a 14th-century Serbian princess and the wife of the Serbian ruler Stefan Uroš V. Her name is sometimes spelled as "Jerina" or "Yevgenia" in historical records.
In the realm of literature, Jena Austen (1775-1817) was a famous English novelist known for her works such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility." Although her first name is spelled differently, it is believed to be a variation of the name Jena.
During the 19th century, Jena Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish composer and violinist who made significant contributions to the development of Finnish national music. His compositions, such as the "Finlandia" symphony, are widely celebrated.
In the field of science, Jena Curie (1867-1934) was a pioneering physicist and chemist who conducted groundbreaking research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win the Nobel Prize twice.
Another notable figure with the name Jena was Jena Krupskaya (1869-1939), a Russian revolutionary and the wife of Vladimir Lenin. She played a significant role in the Bolshevik movement and contributed to the development of the Soviet education system.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Jena over time
The chart below shows babies named Jena registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Jena, the clearest high point is 2003. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 28 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jena by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Jena was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3799 | 29 | 5 |
| 2010s | #3463 | 74 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1558 | 157 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1643 | 45 | 4 |
Geography
Where Jena is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Jena. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Jena ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #439 in 2008.
Across the UK
Jena in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#783 in 2009
15 years of NRS records, 63 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#439 in 2008
3 years of NISRA records, 11 total registered
Related
Names similar to Jena
- Jessica 105,041
- Jasmine 35,227
- Jade 19,646
- Julia 11,780
- Jennifer 11,529
- Jodie 9,357
- Jemima 6,454
- Josephine 5,889
- Jessie 5,418
- Josie 5,284
- Jasmin 4,706
- Jenna 4,646
FAQ
Jena: questions and answers
How popular is the name Jena in the UK right now?
In 2024, Jena was ranked #3695 for girls in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.
When was Jena most popular?
The peak year on record was 2003, with 28 babies registered as Jena in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Jena?
A feminine name of German origin meaning "Giver of life".
How many people are called Jena in the UK?
A total of 305 babies have been registered as Jena across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 63 more in Scotland and 11 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Jena most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Jena ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #439 in 2008. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.