In the Netherlands (and to a lesser extent Belgium), the name Senna only really became popular after the birth of Senna Borsato in September 2001. He is the second child of the successful Dutch-Italian singer Marco Borsato (b. 1966) and his then-wife Leontine Ruiters (b. 1967), a Dutch actress and television presenter. They named him after the Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994). So, at least in Borsato's case, the name Senna comes from the surname Senna - in honour of Ayrton Senna. [noted -ed]Sources: • Senna Borsato (b. 2001; actor): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senna_Borsato (in Dutch) • https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Senna (in Dutch; shows how the name quickly rose in popularity after 2001) • http://www.names.be/voornamen.html?met=Senna&sort=beldesc (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in Belgium in 2009) • my own observations. I remember that the name Senna suddenly popped up everywhere not long after Borsato's birth. Before his birth, most people (including myself) had never heard of the name - at least not as a given name! It was a fresh name - exotic yet familiar, as it was reminiscent of Frisian names like Fenna. I guess that's part of why so many Dutch expectant parents embraced the name. The fact that it was the name of a celebrity's child helped too, of course - but that phenomenon is not unique to the Netherlands. There are people all over the world who allow their baby name choice to be inspired by celebrities - no matter if those celebrities are famous globally, or only locally.
Sources:
• Senna Borsato (b. 2001; actor): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senna_Borsato (in Dutch)
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Senna (in Dutch; shows how the name quickly rose in popularity after 2001)
• http://www.names.be/voornamen.html?met=Senna&sort=beldesc (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in Belgium in 2009)
• my own observations. I remember that the name Senna suddenly popped up everywhere not long after Borsato's birth. Before his birth, most people (including myself) had never heard of the name - at least not as a given name! It was a fresh name - exotic yet familiar, as it was reminiscent of Frisian names like Fenna. I guess that's part of why so many Dutch expectant parents embraced the name. The fact that it was the name of a celebrity's child helped too, of course - but that phenomenon is not unique to the Netherlands. There are people all over the world who allow their baby name choice to be inspired by celebrities - no matter if those celebrities are famous globally, or only locally.