How popular is the baby name Xena in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Xena.

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Popularity of the baby name Xena


Posts that mention the name Xena

Popular and unique baby names in Austria, 2023

Flag of Austria
Flag of Austria

Last year, the European country of Austria welcomed 77,605 babies — 37,596 girls and 40,009 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emilia and Paul.

Here are Austria’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Emilia, 638 baby girls
  2. Marie, 554
  3. Emma, 517
  4. Anna, 514
  5. Mia, 509
  6. Sophia, 471
  7. Valentina, 446
  8. Lena, 434
  9. Lea, 427
  10. Laura, 420
  11. Johanna, 413
  12. Lina, 412
  13. Leonie, 387
  14. Sophie, 381
  15. Hannah, 363
  16. Luisa, 362
  17. Ella, 345
  18. Olivia, 334
  19. Lara, 332
  20. Elena, 318
  21. Nora, 312
  22. Magdalena, 273
  23. Amelie, 268
  24. Mila, 264
  25. Antonia, 262
  26. Helena, 260
  27. Hanna, 252
  28. Lia, 240
  29. Valerie, 236
  30. Isabella, 223
  31. Katharina, 215 (tie)
  32. Sarah, 215 (tie)
  33. Sara, 209
  34. Klara, 207
  35. Theresa, 199
  36. Ida, 195 (tie)
  37. Miriam, 195 (tie)
  38. Elisa, 193
  39. Rosa, 191 (tie)
  40. Sofia, 191 (tie)
  41. Julia, 190
  42. Alina, 186
  43. Elina, 182
  44. Marlene, 181 (tie)
  45. Paula, 181 (tie)
  46. Paulina, 180
  47. Livia, 179
  48. Emily, 176
  49. Clara, 173
  50. Rosalie, 162

Boy names

  1. Paul, 687 baby boys
  2. Jakob, 660
  3. Elias, 625
  4. Maximilian, 620
  5. Felix, 596
  6. Noah, 577
  7. Leon, 572
  8. David, 535
  9. Tobias, 528
  10. Jonas, 520
  11. Leo, 506
  12. Lukas, 484
  13. Moritz, 447
  14. Matteo, 411
  15. Alexander, 406
  16. Theo, 397
  17. Anton, 389
  18. Fabian, 385
  19. Liam, 374
  20. Julian, 369
  21. Simon, 363
  22. Emil, 350
  23. Valentin, 337
  24. Luca, 320
  25. Florian, 315
  26. Matthias, 313
  27. Samuel, 308
  28. Johannes, 283
  29. Gabriel, 279 (tie)
  30. Raphael, 279 (tie)
  31. Lorenz, 272 (tie)
  32. Luis, 272 (tie)
  33. Theodor, 263
  34. Benjamin, 251
  35. Sebastian, 222
  36. Oskar, 216
  37. Niklas, 215
  38. Levi, 213
  39. Finn, 209
  40. Emilio, 207 (tie)
  41. Jonathan, 207 (tie)
  42. Adam, 206 (tie)
  43. Michael, 206 (tie)
  44. Ben, 201
  45. Oliver, 200
  46. Fabio, 193
  47. Mateo, 191
  48. Konstantin, 189 (tie)
  49. Max, 189 (tie)
  50. Luka, 183

In the boys’ top 100 were Ferdinand (60th), Erik (75th), Clemens (84th), and Muhammed (95th).

In the girls’ top 100 were Aurelia (61st), Frida (78th), Mathea (83rd), and Lotta (92nd).

Lower down in the rankings I spotted…

  • Girl names:
    • Finja (53 babies)
    • Dunja (22) – means “quince” in several South Slavic languages
    • Florentine (10)
    • Pelin (8) – means “wormwood” in Turkish
    • Neele (6)
    • Hannelore (4)
    • Philia (3)
  • Boy names:
    • Fridolin (184 babies)
    • Nepomuk (6) – refers to St. John of Nepomuk
    • Amadeus (4)
    • Thorin (4)
    • Atdhe (3) – means “fatherland” in Albanian
    • Pirmin (3) – refers to St. Pirmin
    • Toprak (2) – means “earth, soil,” “land,” or “country” in Turkish

Thousands of other names were given to a single baby each in Austria last year. Here’s a selection of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Aristhea, Berivan, Cleophea, Diola, Elfriede, Fancy, Filianore, Galia, Helly, Irmlind, Julita, Katalia, Lysithea, Mitravinda, Nihira, Orbita, Priska, Qunut, Rudolfina, Silke, Thabea, Uresa, Valina, Weiyu, Xena, Ylenia, ZilliAnadin, Bendix, Crown, Dastan, Elino, Frowin, Guntram, Hannan, Itgelt, Jaryl, Kordian, Lambert, Medardus, Metatron, Nainoa, Oswald, Pim, Qibin, Reinhold, Siegfried, Torger, Uriel, Volodymyr, Willibald, Xichen, Yuzuru, Zinar

Some possible influences/associations for a few of the above:

  • Filianore is a character in the video game Dark Souls III (2016) — specifically, in the downloadable content pack Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017).
  • St. Frowin of Engelberg was a 12th-century Swiss German abbot.
  • Itgelt is likely based on the Mongolian word itgel, meaning “faith, belief.”
  • Kordian is the main character of the Polish drama Kordian (1834) by Juliusz Slowacki.
  • Lysithea refers to several figures in Greek mythology, as well as to a character in the video game Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019).
  • Metatron is an archangel mentioned in Jewish folklore.
  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the president of Ukraine.
  • St. Willibald was an 8th-century Englishman who became a bishop in Bavaria.

Finally, here’s a link to Austria’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names of newborns – Statistics Austria (in German), Atlas der Vornamen – Statistics Austria, Demographic characteristics of newborns – Statistics Austria, Behind the Name, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Austria (public domain)

Most popular baby girl names (letter by letter) in the U.S. in 2023

First letter usage for baby girl names in the U.S. in 2023

Going letter by letter, what were last year’s most popular baby girl names?

Before we get to the lists, a few quick facts:

  • The most common first letter for girl names in 2023 was A (used 16.48% of the time), followed by E (9.49%) and M (9.17%).
  • The least common first letter for girl names in 2023 was U (used 0.04% of the time), followed by Q (0.24%) and X (0.32%).
  • The first letter that increased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was D.
  • The first letter that decreased the most in usage for girl names (from 2022 to 2023) was A.

Top girl names starting with A:

  1. Amelia, 12,311 baby girls
  2. Ava, 9,682
  3. Aurora, 6,054
  4. Aria, 5,996
  5. Avery, 5,859
  6. Abigail, 5,661
  7. Addison, 3,520
  8. Alice, 3,336
  9. Adeline, 3,074
  10. Audrey, 3,032

Top girl names starting with B:

  1. Brooklyn, 2,850 baby girls
  2. Bella, 2,540
  3. Brielle, 2,064
  4. Brianna, 1,875
  5. Blakely, 1,854
  6. Bailey, 1,678
  7. Blake, 1,346
  8. Blair, 1,263
  9. Brynlee, 1,210
  10. Brooke, 1,032

Top girl names starting with C:

  1. Charlotte, 12,596 baby girls
  2. Camila, 7,565
  3. Chloe, 5,960
  4. Claire, 3,195
  5. Caroline, 2,859
  6. Cora, 2,738
  7. Clara, 2,648
  8. Charlie, 2,235
  9. Cecilia, 2,050
  10. Catalina, 1,928

Top girl names starting with D:

  1. Delilah, 4,031 baby girls
  2. Daisy, 2,412
  3. Diana, 1,307
  4. Delaney, 1,283
  5. Daphne, 1,257
  6. Daniela, 1,230
  7. Dahlia, 1,219
  8. Dakota, 1,183
  9. Danna, 1,052
  10. Dream, 920

Top girl names starting with E:

  1. Emma, 13,527 baby girls
  2. Evelyn, 9,082
  3. Eleanor, 6,739
  4. Elizabeth, 6,566
  5. Emily, 6,154
  6. Ellie, 5,951
  7. Ella, 5,643
  8. Eliana, 5,329
  9. Emilia, 4,670
  10. Elena, 4,261

Top girl names starting with F:

  1. Freya, 2,061 baby girls
  2. Faith, 1,256
  3. Finley, 1,106
  4. Fatima, 893
  5. Francesca, 820
  6. Fiona, 764
  7. Frances, 755
  8. Felicity, 676
  9. Fernanda, 653
  10. Faye, 610

Top girl names starting with G:

  1. Gianna, 6,129 baby girls
  2. Grace, 4,886
  3. Genesis, 3,651
  4. Gabriella, 2,782
  5. Georgia, 2,157
  6. Genevieve, 1,734
  7. Gemma, 1,649
  8. Gracie, 1,237
  9. Gia, 1,155
  10. Gabriela, 1,041

Top girl names starting with H:

  1. Harper, 7,769 baby girls
  2. Hazel, 6,154
  3. Hannah, 4,102
  4. Hailey, 2,776
  5. Hadley, 2,304
  6. Hallie, 1,553
  7. Haven, 1,353
  8. Harmony, 1,297
  9. Harlow, 1,266
  10. Hope, 1,011

Top girl names starting with I:

  1. Isabella, 10,808 baby girls
  2. Isla, 5,357
  3. Ivy, 5,036
  4. Iris, 2,921
  5. Isabelle, 1,785
  6. Isabel, 1,743
  7. Itzel, 839
  8. Imani, 645
  9. Izabella, 630
  10. Ivory, 581

Top girl names starting with J:

  1. Josephine, 3,347 baby girls
  2. Jade, 2,908
  3. Josie, 2,504
  4. Juniper, 2,382
  5. Julia, 2,290
  6. Juliette, 1,785
  7. June, 1,694
  8. Jasmine, 1,585
  9. Journee, 1,423
  10. Juliana, 1,240

Top girl names starting with K:

  1. Kinsley, 3,188 baby girls
  2. Kennedy, 3,069
  3. Kehlani, 1,854
  4. Katherine, 1,697
  5. Kaylee, 1,641
  6. Kaia, 1,608
  7. Kylie, 1,439
  8. Khloe, 1,381
  9. Kimberly, 1,329
  10. Kailani, 1,315

Top girl names starting with L:

  1. Luna, 7,811 baby girls
  2. Lily, 6,146
  3. Layla, 5,678
  4. Lucy, 4,858
  5. Leah, 3,953
  6. Lainey, 3,928
  7. Lillian, 3,927
  8. Leilani, 3,543
  9. Liliana, 2,787
  10. Lydia, 2,716

Top girl names starting with M:

  1. Mia, 11,359 baby girls
  2. Mila, 5,895
  3. Madison, 5,160
  4. Maya, 4,067
  5. Madelyn, 3,632
  6. Maeve, 3,046
  7. Maria, 2,893
  8. Madeline, 2,726
  9. Millie, 2,559
  10. Melody, 2,557

Top girl names starting with N:

  1. Nora, 5,994 baby girls
  2. Nova, 5,248
  3. Naomi, 4,456
  4. Natalie, 3,418
  5. Natalia, 2,717
  6. Nevaeh, 2,326
  7. Norah, 1,479
  8. Noelle, 1,451
  9. Nyla, 1,236
  10. Noa, 1,041

Top girl names starting with O:

  1. Olivia, 15,270 baby girls
  2. Oakley, 1,874
  3. Oaklynn, 1,815
  4. Olive, 1,640
  5. Ophelia, 1,166
  6. Octavia, 1,123
  7. Oaklee, 685
  8. Opal, 624
  9. Oakleigh, 596
  10. Oaklyn, 514

Top girl names starting with P:

  1. Penelope, 6,041 baby girls
  2. Paisley, 3,727
  3. Parker, 2,293
  4. Piper, 2,066
  5. Peyton, 1,953
  6. Phoebe, 1,580
  7. Presley, 1,517
  8. Palmer, 1,129
  9. Poppy, 1,072
  10. Payton, 990

Top girl names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn, 2,846 baby girls
  2. Quincy, 263
  3. Queen, 128
  4. Quetzaly, 72
  5. Quinley, 50
  6. Quetzalli, 44
  7. Qamar, 40
  8. Quetzali, 37
  9. Quinnley, 28
  10. Quincey, 27

Top girl names starting with R:

  1. Riley, 4,617 baby girls
  2. Ruby, 3,333
  3. Raelynn, 2,406
  4. Rylee, 2,328
  5. Rose, 2,237
  6. Remi, 2,170
  7. Reagan, 1,721
  8. Reese, 1,663
  9. Rosalie, 1,640
  10. Ruth, 1,594

Top girl names starting with S:

  1. Sophia, 11,944 baby girls
  2. Sofia, 7,641
  3. Scarlett, 6,288
  4. Stella, 4,357
  5. Sadie, 3,586
  6. Sophie, 3,578
  7. Sarah, 2,749
  8. Savannah, 2,739
  9. Serenity, 2,548
  10. Skylar, 2,522

Top girl names starting with T:

  1. Tatum, 1,314 baby girls
  2. Taylor, 1,185
  3. Talia, 1,181
  4. Teagan, 996
  5. Thea, 970
  6. Tessa, 960
  7. Trinity, 866
  8. Thalia, 520
  9. Tiana, 488
  10. Taytum, 430

Top girl names starting with U:

  1. Unique, 103 baby girls
  2. Ulani, 80
  3. Uma, 72
  4. Una, 48
  5. Unity, 46
  6. Unknown, 41
  7. Ursula, 39
  8. Uriyah, 22
  9. Uriah, 21
  10. Urvi, 19

Top girl names starting with V:

  1. Violet, 6,342 baby girls
  2. Victoria, 4,434
  3. Valentina, 4,075
  4. Vivian, 2,801
  5. Valerie, 1,944
  6. Valeria, 1,860
  7. Vera, 1,328
  8. Vivienne, 1,283
  9. Vanessa, 1,010
  10. Viviana, 844

Top girl names starting with W:

  1. Willow, 4,727 baby girls
  2. Wrenley, 1,654
  3. Wren, 1,537
  4. Winter, 826
  5. Wynter, 801
  6. Willa, 717
  7. Wrenlee, 512
  8. Winnie, 485
  9. Whitley, 383
  10. Waverly, 305 (tie)
  11. Winona, 305 (tie)

Top girl names starting with X:

  1. Ximena, 1,809 baby girls
  2. Xiomara, 761
  3. Xyla, 275
  4. Xena, 233
  5. Xochitl, 214
  6. Xolani, 176
  7. Xitlali, 135
  8. Xylah, 96
  9. Xenia, 75
  10. Xareni, 69

Top girl names starting with Y:

  1. Yaretzi, 547 baby girls
  2. Yara, 485
  3. Yareli, 388
  4. Yasmin, 309
  5. Yamileth, 292
  6. Yusra, 201
  7. Yuna, 198
  8. Yaritza, 183
  9. Yaneli, 162
  10. Yasmine, 158

Top girl names starting with Z:

  1. Zoe, 5,160 baby girls
  2. Zoey, 4,040
  3. Zuri, 1,471
  4. Zara, 1,282
  5. Zariah, 740
  6. Zahra, 543
  7. Zariyah, 457
  8. Zelda, 401
  9. Zaniyah, 382
  10. Zaria, 371

Source: SSA

What gave the baby name Zena a boost in 1980?

Commercial for Zena Jeans
Commercial for Zena Jeans

If you look at the popularity graph for the baby name Zena, you’ll see two conspicuous increases in usage: the first in the 1960s (thanks to an actress named Zina), the second in the 1990s (thanks to a warrior princess named Xena).

It’s slightly harder to see that Zena doubled in usage from 1979 to 1980, and sustained that elevated usage for several years:

  • 1983: 47 baby girls named Zena
  • 1982: 58 baby girls named Zena
  • 1981: 54 baby girls named Zena
  • 1980: 51 baby girls named Zena
  • 1979: 24 baby girls named Zena
  • 1978: 28 baby girls named Zena
  • 1977: 24 baby girls named Zena

Why?

I think it has to do with advertisements for Zena Jeans — one of the many jeans brands that emerged during the designer jeans craze of the late ’70s and early ’80s. (Other brands included Jordache, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani, Sergio Valente, Chardon, Sasson, and Brittania.)

Zena’s sexy TV commercials featured good-looking young ladies and the tagline: “If you’re a woman, Zena is you!”

New York-based Zena Jeans was named after co-founder Zena Gilbert, who launched the company in 1978 with her husband Richard.

Zena Gilbert, who had four children (with Richard), hadn’t been able to find reasonably priced jeans with the right fit (i.e., “smaller in the waist and roomier in the hips”). So Richard, who worked in the apparel industry, suggested that they design and manufacture their own line of jeans.

“They turned a modest investment into a $22 million business in two years.”

For Zena Gilbert, “Zena” was a nickname. She was born Zenaida Gromoff on the remote island of St. Paul, which lies several hundred miles off the coast of mainland Alaska. Her father was a Russian Orthodox priest named Elary, and her mother was an Aleut woman named Elisaveta (Elizabeth).

What are your thoughts on the name Zena?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of a TV commercial for Zena Jeans

Top first letters of U.S. baby names in 2022

Which first letters were the most and least popular for U.S. baby names in 2022?

Top first letters for girl names: A, E, M

For baby girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by E and M. The least-used first letter was U.

Top first letters for U.S. baby girl names, 2022

The most popular girl names per letter were…

  • A-names (given to over 267,800 baby girls): Amelia, Ava, Aria, Abigail
  • B-names (over 47,600): Brooklyn, Bella, Brielle, Blakely
  • C-names (over 91,300): Charlotte, Camila, Chloe, Claire
  • D-names (over 41,500): Delilah, Daisy, Diana, Delaney
  • E-names (over 154,200): Emma, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Eleanor
  • F-names (over 17,000): Freya, Faith, Finley, Fatima
  • G-names (over 41,500): Gianna, Grace, Genesis, Gabriella
  • H-names (over 55,000): Harper, Hazel, Hannah, Hailey
  • I-names (over 46,000): Isabella, Isla, Ivy, Iris
  • J-names (over 71,600): Josephine, Jade, Julia, Juniper
  • K-names (over 86,400): Kinsley, Kennedy, Kehlani, Kaylee
  • L-names (over 118,000): Luna, Layla, Lily, Lucy
  • M-names (over 147,000): Mia, Mila, Madison, Maya
  • N-names (over 59,400): Nora, Nova, Naomi, Natalie
  • O-names (over 30,500): Olivia, Oakley, Olive, Oaklynn
  • P-names (over 36,600): Penelope, Paisley, Piper, Parker
  • Q-names (over 4,000): Quinn, Quincy, Queen, Quinley
  • R-names (over 74,200): Riley, Ruby, Raelynn, Rylee
  • S-names (over 119,300): Sophia, Sofia, Scarlett, Stella
  • T-names (over 23,500): Taylor, Tatum, Teagan, Thea
  • U-names (over 600): Unique, Uma, Una, Unity
  • V-names (over 34,700): Violet, Victoria, Valentina, Vivian
  • W-names (over 16,100): Willow, Wren, Wrenley, Winter
  • X-names (over 4,900): Ximena, Xiomara, Xyla, Xena
  • Y-names (over 9,100): Yaretzi, Yara, Yareli, Yamileth
  • Z-names (over 29,500): Zoe, Zoey, Zuri, Zara

Top first letters for boy names: J, A, L

For baby boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and L. The least-used first letter was U.

Top first letters for U.S. baby boy names, 2022

The most popular boy names per letter were…

  • A-names (given to over 181,000 baby boys): Alexander, Asher, Aiden, Anthony
  • B-names (over 82,300): Benjamin, Brooks, Bennett, Beau
  • C-names (over 121,500): Carter, Charles, Caleb, Cooper
  • D-names (over 84,000): Daniel, David, Dylan, Dominic
  • E-names (over 109,900): Elijah, Ethan, Ezra, Elias
  • F-names (over 20,500): Finn, Felix, Finley, Francisco
  • G-names (over 51,500): Gabriel, Grayson, Greyson, Gael
  • H-names (over 50,000): Henry, Hudson, Hunter, Harrison
  • I-names (over 32,300): Isaac, Isaiah, Ian, Ivan
  • J-names (over 195,800): James, Jack, Jackson, John
  • K-names (over 94,800): Kai, Kayden, Kingston, Kaiden
  • L-names (over 132,400): Liam, Lucas, Levi, Leo
  • M-names (over 128,900): Mateo, Michael, Mason, Matthew
  • N-names (over 56,200): Noah, Nathan, Nolan, Nicholas
  • O-names (over 40,500): Oliver, Owen, Oscar, Omar
  • P-names (over 23,100): Parker, Peter, Patrick, Preston
  • Q-names (over 2,800): Quinn, Quentin, Quincy, Quinton
  • R-names (over 82,200): Roman, Ryan, Robert, Rowan
  • S-names (over 73,500): Sebastian, Samuel, Santiago, Silas
  • T-names (over 61,100): Theodore, Thomas, Theo, Thiago
  • U-names (over 2,600): Uriel, Uriah, Ulises, Ulysses
  • V-names (over 11,100): Vincent, Victor, Valentino, Vicente/Vincenzo (tie)
  • W-names (over 50,300): William, Wyatt, Waylon, Wesley
  • X-names (over 7,000): Xavier, Xander, Xzavier, Xavion
  • Y-names (over 9,000): Yusuf, Yosef, Yehuda, Yahir
  • Z-names (over 27,600): Zion, Zachary, Zayden, Zane

Source: SSA