Usually a variation of Helen, but also a form of Arlene or Magdalena. Lena was one of the top 50 names of the 1890s and has had an extremely slow decline ever since. More than 600 girls were given the name in 2005, ranking it 477th.

Famous names: Lena Horne (singer and actress), Lena Olin (actress)

Other spellings: Leana, Lina

Find out about popular Irish names.