Serena

Serena meaning

Serena is a Christian girl's name of Latin origin.

Clear, fair, bright; figuratively cheerful, tranquil

Also used to mean: serene, calm

Serena is the feminine of Latin serenus. Lewis & Short define the word first as clear and fair, used of a cloudless sky, a bright day or calm weather, and then figuratively as cheerful, glad and tranquil, which is the sense of English 'serene'. Name lists give it simply as 'serene' or 'calm'. Early Christian legend tells of a St Serena of Rome, and Edmund Spenser used the name for a lady in The Faerie Queene. In modern times the tennis champion Serena Williams has made it known everywhere. In India it is used in Christian families who like Latin virtue-style names.

Source: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary (1879), s.v. serenus · entry serenus · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Lewis & Short, serenus (alatius.com) · Wikipedia, Serena (given name)

Famous namesakes

• Serena Williams, American tennis champion

Popularity abroad

• #325 United States, girls 2025 (up 6 from 331 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #381 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Serena · Sereena · Serina

Related names

Also meaning peace

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