Lena began as a short form of names ending in -lena, above all Helena and Magdalena, and so inherits their meanings, "torch" and "woman from Magdala", though it has long been a name in its own right across Europe. Lena Horne, the singer and civil rights activist, and more recently Lena Dunham and Lena Headey are its best-known bearers. Lena has been in the US top 1000 all century, moving from number 546 in 2000 to a peak of number 254 in 2022 and number 279 among girls' names in 2025.