Given name
Leena
“the shining light”·“of the palm tree”
Leena is a variant of Leanna. In Gaelic use, Leanna carries the interpretation “the shining light.” Leena is a variant of Lina. One Arabic interpretation is “of the palm tree.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Leena is a variant of Leanna. In Gaelic use, Leanna carries the interpretation “the shining light.” Leena is a variant of Lina. One Arabic interpretation is “of the palm tree.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Leena is a variant of Lina. An origin associated with Lina is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Estonian usage, Leena is a diminutive of MAGDALEENA.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1963. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Leena through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,785
- 0 boys · 5,785 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 256 babies
- 2025
- 212
- #1,115 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −1%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 212 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,115 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 0.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 256 in 2019. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (28). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,243 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Leena’s family of names
In Estonian usage, Leena is a diminutive of MAGDALEENA. In Finnish usage, Leena shares a linguistic root with the Swedish form Lena. Leena has a related form in Lina.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Leena has relatives in 5 languages.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 22
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Leena
- Leena LehtolainenFinnish crime writerborn 1964
- Leena PeisaFinnish keyboardistborn 1979
- Leena AlamAfghani actressborn 1978
- Leena JumaniIndian actress and modelborn 1983
- Leena NairBritish businesswoman with Indian originborn 1969
- Leena KrohnFinnish writer (born 1947)
- Leena ChandavarkarIndian actressborn 1950
- Leena Yadavfilmmakerborn 1971
- Leena MeriFinnish politicianborn 1968
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Leena, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“from the boar's meadow”
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