# Lena (name)

Lena is a feminine given name with several origins and meanings. In Greek, it is a short form of Helena (Ἑλένη), meaning “torch” or “shining light.” In Germanic cultures, it may be a diminutive of names like Magdalena or Alena, meaning “elevated,” “exalted,” “great,” or “bright,” or derived from the Germanic suffix -lein, meaning “little.” In Scandinavian countries, Lena is used as a standalone name, meaning “light” or “bright.” Across cultures, Lena is associated with brightness, light, and endearment.

## People with the given name

* Lena (actress), Malayalam film actress
* Lena Ackebo (born 1950), Swedish comic creator
* Lena Åkesson (born 1967), Swedish boxer
* Lena Anderssen, Faroese-Canadian singer-songwriter
* Lena Ashwell (1872–1957), British actress
* Lena Asplund (born 1956), Swedish politician
* Lena Baker (1900–1945), American convicted of murder
* Lena Bergman (born 1943), Swedish social services employee
* Lena Bergström (born 1961), Swedish textiles and glass designer
* Léna Bernstein (1906–1932), German aviator
* Lena Berntsson (born 1978), Swedish athlete
* Lena Börjeson (1879–1976), Swedish sculptor, teacher
* Lena Northern Buckner (1875–1939), American social worker
* Lena Burke (born 1978), Cuban singer and actress
* Lena Chamamyan (born 1980), Syrian singer of Armenian origin
* Lena Christ (1881–1920), German writer
* Lena Doolin Mason (1864–1924), American Methodist preacher and poet
* Lena Dunham (born 1986), American filmmaker and actress
* Lena Düpont (born 1986), German politician
* Lena Einhorn (born 1954), Swedish director, writer and physician
* Lena Endre (born 1955), Swedish theatre, film and television actress
* Lena Erdil (born 1989), Turkish windsurfer
* Lena Eriksson (born 1972), Swedish breaststroke swimmer
* Lena Santos Ferguson (1928–2004), American secretary, clubwoman, and civil rights advocate
* Lena Fiagbe, British soul singer-songwriter
* Lena Forsén (born 1951), Swedish Playboy Playmate
* Lena Frier Kristiansen (born 1983), Danish badminton player
* Lena Gercke (born 1988), German model
* Lena Hallin (born 1961), Swedish Air Force major general
* Lena Häcki (born 1995), Swiss biathlete
* Lena Hades (born 1959), Russian painter
* Lena Tracy Hanks (1879–1944), American psychologist
* Lena Headey (born 1973), British actress
* Lena Hill, American academic administrator
* Lena Horne (1917–2010), American singer and actress
* Lena Jeger, Baroness Jeger (1915–2007), British politician
* Lena Jensen (born 1973), Norwegian politician
* Lena Jensen Rogn [no] (born 1980), Norwegian cross-country skier
* Lena Johansson (born 1969), Swedish politician
* Lena Kovačević (born 1992), Serbian singer
* Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth (born 1955), Swedish politician
* Lena Lotzen (born 1993), German footballer
* Lena Machado (1903–1974) Native Hawaiian singer, composer, and ukulele player
* Lena Malkus (born 1993), German long jumper
* Lena Martell (born 1940), Scottish singer
* Lena B. Mathes (1861–1951), American educator, social reformer, and ordained minister
* Lena McEwan (1927–2011), Australian plastic surgeon
* Lena McLin (1928–2023), American composer
* Lena Meyer-Landrut (born 1991), German singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010
* Lena Nazaryan (born 1983), Armenian journalist and politician
* Lena Oberdorf (born 2001), German footballer
* Lena Olin (born 1955), Swedish actress
* Lena Platonos (born 1951), Greek musician, pianist, and composer
* Lena Raine (born 1984), American video game composer and producer
* Lena Richard (1892 or 1893-1950), American cookbook author and restaurateur
* Lena Röhlings (born 2002), German canoeist
* Lena Rosenthal (1920–2007), birthname of American businesswoman Leona Helmsley
* Lena Sadick, lawn and indoor bowler
* Lena Sandlin-Hedman (born 1969), Swedish politician
* Lena Stojković (born 2002), Croatian taekwondo practitioner
* Lena Valaitis (born 1943), Lithuanian-German singer
* Lena Waithe (born 1984), American screenwriter, producer, and actress
* Lena Yada (born 1978), Japanese-American model
* Lena Zavaroni (1963–1999), Scottish singer

## Nickname

* Jennie Lena, stage name of Jennie Willemstijn (born 1977), Dutch singer and songwriter
* Lena Asmus, nickname of Helene Asmus (born 1982), Russian and German rhythmic gymnast
* Lena Blackburne, nickname of Russell Aubrey Blackburne (1886–1968), American baseball infielder, manager, coach, and scout
* Lena Brogren, nickname of Ulla-Britt Brogren (1929–2005), was a Swedish actress
* Lena Connell, stage name of Adelin Beatrice Connell, also known professionally as Beatrice Cundy, (1875–1949), British suffragette and a well-known photographer
* Lena Crittenden/Lee Crittenden, pennames of Lela E. Buis, American speculative fiction writer, playwright, poet and artist
* Lena d'Água, stage name of Helena Maria de Jesus Águas (born 1956), Portuguese singer
* Lena Farugia, stage name of Nicolina Elizabeth Farruggia (1951–2019), American-born South African actress, screenwriter, director and producer
* Lena Hall, stage name of Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal (born 1980), American actress and singer
* Lena Herzog, stage name of Elena Herzog (née Pisetski; born 1970), Russian-American visual artist and photographer
* Lena Kang, stage name of Kang Re-Na (born 2002), South Korean singer, former member of K-pop group GWSN
* Lena Katina, stage name of Elena Sergeevna Katina (born 1984), Russian singer
* Lena Michaëlis, nickname of Helena Cornelia Michaëlis (1905–1982), Dutch discus thrower
* Lena Milman, nickname of Angelena Frances Milman (1862–1914), British translator, critic and architectural historian
* Lena Neuner, nickname of Magdalena Neuner (married name Magdalena Holzer; born 1987), German biathlete
* Lena Ovchynnikova, nickname of Oléna Serhíyivna Ovchýnnikova (born 1987), Ukrainian kickboxer and mixed martial artist
* Lena Oxton, fictional Overwatch character, known as Tracer (Overwatch)
* Lena Park, stage name of Park Jung-hyun (born 1976), Korean singer, also known as Park Jung Hyun (박정현)
* Lena Philipsson, stage name of Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 1966), Swedish singer, also known as "Lena Ph"
* Lena Piskun, nickname of Elena Mikhaylovna Piskun (born 1978), Belarusian artistic gymnast
* Lena Purcell, nickname of Samuelene Purcell (1898–1982), New Zealand shop assistant and trade unionist
* Lena Rice, nickname of Helena Bertha Grace Rice (1866–1907), Irish tennis player
* Lena Ruru, nickname of Rina Matewai Ruru (1902–1977), New Zealand community leader, sportswoman, pianist and Māori welfare worker
* Lena Styles, nickname of William Graves Styles (1899–1956), American baseball catcher
* Lena Tretyakova, stage name of Elena Nikolaevna Tretyakova (born 1988), Russian singer

## Fictional characters

* The female protagonist in an Ole and Lena joke
* Lena, played by Marion Cotillard in the 2006 film Toi et Moi
* Lena, played by Emma Levie in the 2011 film Lena
* Lena, played by Natalie Portman in the 2018 film Annihilation
* Lena, in the book series Fablehaven
* Lena Adams, in the Grant County, Georgia series of books
* Lena Duchannes, in the Beautiful Creatures series of books
* Lena Adams Foster, in American TV series The Fosters
* Lena Grove, in the William Faulkner novel Light In August
* Lena Haloway, in the Delirium series of books by Lauren Oliver
* Lena Hatun, in Turkish TV series Kuruluş: Osman
* Lena Kaligaris, in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books
* Lena Luthor, Lex Luthor's sister in DC Comics
* Lena "Tracer" Oxton, in the video games Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm
* Lena Seguret, in The Returned television show
* Lena De Spell, in the DuckTales television show
* Lenna Charlotte Tycoon, one of the main characters of Final Fantasy V
* Lena Younger, in the A Raisin In The Sun play
* Lena Tikhonova in the Everlasting Summer game
* Lena Milizé, in 86: Eighty Six, short for Vladilena

## People with the surname

* Jeffrey Lena (born 1958), American lawyer
* Jennie Lena, Dutch singer-songwriter
* Nijaz Lena (born 1986), Macedonian footballer