Bena
Feminine · “understanding”
The Yiddish name Bine has two possible meanings and they could hardly be further apart. One is Hebrew binah, understanding — the third of the sefirot, a technical term in Jewish mysticism. The other is German Biene, a bee. Nobody has settled which the name is, and it may honestly be both.
How old is the name Bena?
Bena was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Bena alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 300 people named Bena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bena most popular?
Bena peaked in 1880, reaching #738 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 11,194 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From binah to Bena
The story of Bena
Binah is not an ordinary word. In the Kabbalistic scheme it is the third emanation, the faculty that takes a flash of insight and works it into something a person can hold, and it is grammatically feminine, which is why it was used as a name. Meanwhile German-speaking Jews had a perfectly ordinary word for a bee that sounded almost identical, and Yiddish women's names drawn from animals and pleasant objects were common — Feige for a fig, Taube for a dove. Both roads lead to the same three-syllable name and the same anglicization. The third possibility is duller and equally real: Benedicta, from Latin bene dicere, to speak well of, which is what a blessing literally is.
Meaningscholars disagree
understanding — or, in the other reading, a bee
The Yiddish woman's name Bine, anglicized as Bena and Bina, is derived either from Hebrew binah, understanding or discernment, or from Middle High German bine, a bee. Yiddish drew on both languages constantly, and names built on that overlap are frequently impossible to assign. Bena is also recorded as a short form of Benedicta.
How the name formed
- binah
- Bine
- Bena
Related forms: Bine · Bina
Pronouncing Bena
BEE-nah
Two syllables, stress on the first. BEN-uh, with a short first vowel, is also recorded and follows the English reading of the spelling rather than the Yiddish one.
Nicknames for Bena
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 191816 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #738reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- +40.0%7 in 2025, from 5
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.
Bena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bine in Yiddish — same name
- Bina in German — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania.
Benas among us
people named Bena are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Bena
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Bena 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
Bena beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bena in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, with nothing that has to be explained.
- Both of its possible meanings are documented and both are pleasant.
- It is genuinely rare, so a child will almost certainly never meet another.
- Very few people carry it now and almost all of them are old, so it reads as of another century.
- The first vowel is said two ways and the spelling settles neither.
- It is close to Bina, Beena and Bena in several traditions, all with separate sources.
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What they receive
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Bena
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Benas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Bena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bena in 2025?
- Bena ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bena?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Bena — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bena with classmates?
- Bena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bena
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932 · Gracia#11932 · Hassie#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bena and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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