Azucena
Feminine · “madonna lily”
Azucena is the Spanish word for the madonna lily, and it came into Spanish from Arabic — one of several thousand words that eight centuries of al-Andalus left in the language.
How old is the name Azucena?
Azucena first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Azucena alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 3,700 people named Azucena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Azucena most popular?
Azucena peaked in 2001, reaching #1090 nationally. Today it ranks #3645, 2,555 places below that high. See the whole 2001 chart.
Where it comes from
From susan to Azucena
The story of Azucena
Arabic gave Spanish a very large vocabulary — algebra, azúcar, aceite, azucena — and Spanish usually kept the Arabic definite article al- or as- fused to the front, which is why they all start with a. The lily behind this one is the white madonna lily, associated with the Virgin in Spanish devotion. The name is used across Spain and Latin America and reaches American records with Mexican and Salvadoran families.
Meaning
madonna lily
From Arabic as-susana, the lily, itself borrowed from an older Semitic word that also gives the Hebrew Shoshana and the English Susan; Spanish took the Arabic word with its article attached, which is why so many Spanish words begin with a.
How the name formed
- susan
- as-susana
- azucena
Related forms: Susana · Shoshana · Susan
Pronouncing Azucena
ah-soo-SEH-nah
Four syllables with the stress on the third. Spain gives the z and c a th sound.
Nicknames for Azucena
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 2001194 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1090reached in 2001
- Change vs 2024
- −8.9%41 in 2025, from 45
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Azucena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Susana in Arabic — related form
- Shoshana in Hebrew — related form
- Susan in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Georgia.
Azucenas among us
people named Azucena are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 39,202 born in 2025 was named Azucena
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Larhonda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Azucena's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Larhonda climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Larhonda's path sketches the road Azucena is walking now.
Azucena sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Azucena is headed
Azucena should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Azucena beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Azucena in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to a real and specific flower.
- It carries a genuinely interesting piece of Spanish linguistic history.
- Every letter is sounded, so Spanish speakers read it correctly at first sight.
- Eight letters and four syllables is a great deal for early handwriting and for forms.
- English readers do not know where the stress falls.
- It is the same flower as Susan by a completely different road, which few will guess.
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What they receive
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Azucena
Feminine · #3645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Azucenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Azucena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Azucena in 2025?
- Azucena ranks #3645 among US girl names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Azucena?
- About 1 in every 39,202 US girls born in 2025 was named Azucena — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Azucena with classmates?
- Azucena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Azucena
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elenor#3645 · Alaura#3645 · Judah#3645 · Rylen#3645 · Zamiyah#3645 · Naiara#3645 · Bostyn#3645 · Marietta#3645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Azucena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Azucena and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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