Nena ranks at #199 with 536 entries, and the name carries Spanish and Italian heritage that makes it slightly distinctive at this rank. Nena means "baby girl" or "little girl" in Spanish as a term of endearment, and the affectionate register transfers cleanly to pet naming.
The Spanish-endearment lineage
Nena sits adjacent to Nina in the Spanish-female pet-name cluster — both reduplicated-syllable, both used as endearments, both functioning as standalone names too. Owners who pick Nena are usually doing so in households with Spanish-language familiarity, where the affectionate term-of-endearment register lands intuitively. The name is significantly less common than Nina in baby naming, which keeps the pet-naming slot more distinctive.
One counter-reading: Nena is also the name of the German singer-songwriter behind "99 Luftballons" (1983), and a smaller share of pet owners — particularly in the 50+ adopter range — pick the name for that 80s-music register. Those Nenas tend to skew toward small, slightly retro-coded dogs and cats where the soft sound fits visually.
Where the name lands by breed
Small companions, Chihuahuas, and cats over-index on Nena. The two-syllable shape (NEH-nah) recalls cleanly and reads as gentle, which matches the term-of-endearment origin and fits the small-pet register. Spanish-language households tend to gravitate toward the name at higher rates than English-only households, which produces a regional concentration that does not always show up in pet-naming data at higher ranks. The Nena baby name page shows the human chart for context. Owners cross-shopping similar names usually consider Nina alongside Nena, picking between the two based on which spelling and pronunciation feels more familiar in their household and which one carries the right amount of formality for the pet's role in the family.