Inger vs Lena
Inger and Lenacompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Girls
In 2025, Inger was ranked #292 and Lena #294 among girls in Norway.
Inger and Lena over time
Inger and Lena appear together in 1 published list, across 81 years of shared records. Lena held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Inger in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Inger reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Lena in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Inger and Lena changed places 12 times in Norway · Girls between 1945 and 2025, ending at #292 and #294.
- Longest-running competitions
Inger and Lena were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #292 and #294.
List by list
Norway · Girls81 shared years, 1945–2025
Inger held the stronger position in 37 of those years, Lena in 44.
Highest recorded here: Inger #2 in 1945, Lena #20 in 1969.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Inger #292, Lena #294.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Inger | Lena |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | A short form of names ending in '-lena', such as Helena, Magdalena or Yelena — widely used independently. |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Used across Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and German traditions |
| Pronunciation | /ˈleː.na/ | |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Girls #292 (2025) | Republic of Ireland · Girls #266 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 94/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Lena has a recorded origin (Used across Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and German traditions); Inger does not have one recorded yet.
- Inger and Lena both have 2 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Lena; Inger doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Inger
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #2 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #2 among girls in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #292 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls
Lena
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #346 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #20 among girls in Norway, in 1969 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #294 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls