Jelena

Did you know?

A few things about Jelena you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Jelena

Jelena Karleuša

Serbian singer

Choose Jelena and your child shares a first name with Jelena Karleuša, a Serbian singer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Jelena, like who?” Jelena Karleuša's Wikipedia article is available in 51 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Jelena Karleuša on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: RTV Stara Pazova, CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 61,728 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Jelena, 26 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Jelena would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryJelena first shows up in US birth records in 1959, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 66 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2017, when it reached #2,573.
• 🍂TrendJelena has slipped 1,209 places over the last five years and now sits at #4,987. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningJelena is a Serbian form of Helen, which means “shining light”. Our records link it to American, Russian and Slavic roots.

About the name Jelena

Jelena is a girl name of American, Russian and Slavic origin meaning “shining light”. It has 6 letters and 3 syllables, starting with J and ending in “-ena”. US birth records list Jelena for girls from 1959 to 2025, in 61 of those 67 years. Its best year was 2017, when it ranked #2,573 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #4,987, with 26 babies.

Origin:American namesRussian namesSlavic names