Božena
Only about 33 women in Poland carry it, and none have been born this century: most Poles have never met one. A Slavic name meaning "blessed", literally gifted by God.
Božena Pronunciation
Božena is pronounced bo-ŽE-nah (/bɔˈžɛna/).
What Božena means
Where Božena comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Božena grows from Slavic soil, built on the root that gives the word for God, Bóg. The name reads as divine and blessed, in Polish obdarowana przez Boga, gifted by God. Its meaning sits close to its origin, with little later gloss laid over the top.
Božena Němcová made it famous. The nineteenth-century Czech writer signed her stories with it and kept them in print. Before her, an eleventh-century Božena married Duke Oldřich of Bohemia, so the name already sat among the powerful.
The name branches into familiar shapes. Bożenka softens it for a child, Bożenna stretches it into a fuller variant, and Bożydar turns the same idea toward a son. At an imieniny in a Polish town, a Bożena hears her day read from the calendar. The root holds under all of them, Bóg, and the blessing that follows.
How many people are named Božena
1 in 683146 women in Poland is named Božena. 33 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #6958 among female names.