Dana

Where Dana comes from

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.
— Wiktionary's entry for Dana
  • From a surname
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Dana through the years
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #813 among girls with 6 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1956
    Dana Delany born
    American actress
  3. 1956
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name. From this year on, more girls have.
  4. 1969
    Dana International born
    Israeli singer
  5. 1971
    Peak, #44
    6,934 babies named Dana, the most in any year.
  6. 1985
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #82.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name transferred from the surname, originally given in honor of Richard Henry Dana Jr.
  • A female given name,
Namesakes
  • Dana International · Israeli singer, born 1969
  • Dana Delany · American actress, born 1956
  • Dana Andrews · American actor, 1909–1992
  • Dana White · American businessman and president of UFC, born 1969
  • Dana Rosemary Scallon · Northern Irish singer and politician, born 1951

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.