UK girl's name
Selena
Of Greek origin, meaning "moon".
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.
Selena is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Selena popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #313, with 138 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2023, with 169 births.
This profile covers 1,505 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 82% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,593 living people in the UK are called Selena. 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
- • Selena ranked #313 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 138 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2023, when 169 girls were registered as Selena.
- • Selena ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #351 in 2024.
- • About 1,593 living people in the UK are estimated to have Selena as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#313
2024
Births in 2024
138
Latest year
Peak year
2023
169 births
Estimated living
1,593
2026
Meaning
What does Selena mean?
The name Selena is a Greek name that originated from the word "selene," which means "moon" in ancient Greek. It was derived from the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, who was a Titan in Greek mythology. The name Selena was popular in ancient Greece and was often associated with beauty, grace, and serenity.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Selena was in the 3rd century BC, when a Greek poet named Callimachus wrote a poem about the goddess Selene. The name was also mentioned in various Greek texts and inscriptions from the ancient world.
In the Middle Ages, the name Selena was used by Christians as a variant of the name Selene, and it was often given to girls born during a full moon or on the night of a lunar eclipse. The name was particularly popular in Eastern Europe, where it was spelled as "Selena" or "Selina."
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Selena was Selene I, a queen of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon in the 3rd century BC. Another notable figure was Selene II, a queen of the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC.
During the Renaissance period, the name Selena became popular in Italy, where it was often spelled as "Selena" or "Selina." One of the most famous individuals with this name was Selena Garresio, an Italian painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century.
In the 19th century, the name Selena gained popularity in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, a Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and fashion designer who was known as the "Queen of Tejano music." She was born in 1971 and tragically died in 1995 at the age of 23.
Other notable individuals with the name Selena include Selena Gomez, an American singer and actress born in 1992; Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Mexican-American singer and songwriter born in 1971; Selena Royle, an American actress born in 1904 and died in 1983; and Selena Zott, an American actress born in 1996.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Selena over time
The chart below shows babies named Selena 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 Selena, the clearest high point is 2023. The latest England and Wales figure is 138 births in 2024, compared with 169 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Selena by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Selena 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 | #358 | 627 | 5 |
| 2010s | #708 | 594 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1154 | 221 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1246 | 63 | 4 |
Geography
Where Selena is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Selena. 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.
Selena ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #351 in 2024.
Across the UK
Selena in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#351 in 2024
19 years of NRS records, 89 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#354 in 2022
2 years of NISRA records, 7 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Selena
-
Selena Caemawr
entrepreneur; poet; autism rights activist
Welsh autism activist, entrepreneur and poet
1982-
-
Selena O'Hanlon
equestrian
Canadian equestrian
1981-
-
Selena Li
actor
Canadian actress
1981-
-
Selena Rudge
rugby union player
British rugby union player
1975-
Related
Names similar to Selena
- Sophie 103,803
- Sophia 46,936
- Scarlett 34,261
- Sienna 32,418
- Sofia 29,136
- Sarah 27,961
- Shannon 25,510
- Summer 24,167
- Sara 14,205
- Skye 13,654
- Samantha 12,697
- Stephanie 9,309
FAQ
Selena: questions and answers
How popular is the name Selena in the UK right now?
In 2024, Selena was ranked #313 for girls in England and Wales, with 138 births registered.
When was Selena most popular?
The peak year on record was 2023, with 169 babies registered as Selena in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Selena?
Of Greek origin, meaning "moon".
How many people are called Selena in the UK?
A total of 1,505 babies have been registered as Selena across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 89 more in Scotland and 7 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Selena most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Selena ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #351 in 2024. 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.