Kristena
Feminine · “a Christian”
Kristena respells a name that has been standard across northern Europe for centuries. One of the people who carried it gave up a throne in her twenties, changed religion in a country where that was illegal, and went to live in Rome.
How old is the name Kristena?
Kristena first appears in US birth records in 1948 — 77 years ago. The typical Kristena alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 700 people named Kristena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kristena most popular?
Kristena peaked in 1972, reaching #2820 nationally. See the whole 1972 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Kristena
Christina of Sweden came to the throne as a child, was educated like a prince, refused to marry, and abdicated at twenty-eight. She then converted to Catholicism, which in Lutheran Sweden meant she could not have stayed, and settled in Rome, where she ran a household that became one of the centers of intellectual life in the city, founded an academy, collected on a serious scale and made herself a considerable nuisance to several popes. She had invited Descartes to Sweden a few years earlier for early morning philosophy lessons, and he caught a chill and died there, which is not entirely her fault and is usually mentioned anyway.
Meaning
a Christian
The name is the feminine of the ordinary word for a follower of Christ, used as a personal name since the early Middle Ages. Only the spelling here is unusual.
Pronouncing Kristena
kris-TEE-nuh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The altered vowel is not audible.
Nicknames for Kristena
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
- 1948
- Most girls named
- 198832 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2820reached in 1972
- Change vs 2006
- −44.4%5 in 2007, from 9
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.
Kristena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kristina in Swedish — same name
- Christina in German — same name
- Cristina in Italian — same name
Kristenas among us
people named Kristena are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kristena sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Kris and Tena are both available as short forms and both work on their own.
- The name behind it is established across the whole of Europe.
- The meaning is settled and can be given in two words.
- Kristina and Christina are both far commoner, so this spelling will be corrected regularly.
- The changed letter cannot be heard, so the spelling has to be given aloud every time.
- The name states a religious identity plainly, which is a feature for many families and a consideration for others.
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Kristena
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kristenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Kristena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kristena in 2025?
- Kristena is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kristena with classmates?
- Kristena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kristena? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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