Serena comes from the Latin serenus and means "calm", "serene" or "clear", like a cloudless sky. It was borne by an early Roman saint and, for today's parents, by tennis champion Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes in American history. Serena ranked 209th in 2000, dipped to number 448 in 2016 and has been climbing again since, to 325th place among girls' names in 2025.