Head to head · Girls' names
Danna vs Demi
#394 vs #380 in 2025
Demi is a whisker ahead (#380 vs #394 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Demi is holding its place on the charts, Danna is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Danna has the edge.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Danna leads 4 measures of 6; Demi leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Danna #4616, Demi — — Danna higher
- 1920s: Danna #3550, Demi — — Danna higher
- 1930s: Danna #1824, Demi — — Danna higher
- 1940s: Danna #933, Demi — — Danna higher
- 1950s: Danna #835, Demi — — Danna higher
- 1960s: Danna #676, Demi #7119 — Danna higher
- 1970s: Danna #874, Demi #6558 — Danna higher
- 1980s: Danna #1186, Demi #5945 — Danna higher
- 1990s: Danna #1608, Demi #762 — Demi higher
- 2000s: Danna #758, Demi #1285 — Danna higher
- 2010s: Danna #474, Demi #626 — Danna higher
- 2020s: Danna #367, Demi #389 — Danna higher
Danna stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Danna has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Danna | Demi |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #4616 | — |
| 1920s | #3550 | — |
| 1930s | #1824 | — |
| 1940s | #933 | — |
| 1950s | #835 | — |
| 1960s | #676 | #7119 |
| 1970s | #874 | #6558 |
| 1980s | #1186 | #5945 |
| 1990s | #1608 | #762 |
| 2000s | #758 | #1285 |
| 2010s | #474 | #626 |
| 2020s | #367 | #389 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Danna
No single settled meaning — read either as 'a Dane' or as 'judge', depending on which Dana you follow
Danna is generally treated as a spelling of Dana with the n doubled, and Dana itself has two serious readings. One is the English surname route, from an old word meaning a Dane, a person from Denmark. The other is Hebrew, where Dana works as a feminine counterpart to Dan, from a root meaning to judge — the same root behind Daniel and Daniela. Neither reading has pushed the other out.
Dana → Danna
How it traveled
Dana arrived as a given name out of a surname, and in English it traveled to both boys and girls for much of the twentieth century. Alongside it ran the Hebrew Dana, tied to Dan and to the whole Daniel family, which is why the name has never had one tidy meaning.
Demi
Short form of Demetria — 'of Demeter', the Greek harvest goddess; also identical to the French word for 'half'
The main road is Greek: Demetria and Demetrius mean 'belonging to Demeter', goddess of grain and the earth's yield, and Demi is the clipped English form. The second is coincidence turned into association — French 'demi' means 'half', the same element in demitasse and demi-glace. Both readings are genuinely in circulation, and the name is often understood as one or the other depending on who is saying it.
Demeter → Demetrios → Demetria → Demi
How it traveled
Demeter's name stands at the head of this line, and from it Greek made Demetrios and Demetria, names carried steadily through the Byzantine world and into the Orthodox countries, where Dimitri and Dimitra remain everyday names. Latin borrowed Demetria, and English-speaking families shortened it the way they shortened everything — to a single bright syllable plus a vowel.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Danna
DAN-uh
The doubled n keeps the first vowel short, as in Anna. Spanish-speaking families often say DAH-nah, with a rounder first vowel; both are standard for this spelling. The one to head off is DAY-nuh, which belongs to Dana.
- Dani — The everyday short form, shared with Daniela and Danielle; also given on its own as a full name.
- Dana — Used informally by family, and a standalone given name in its own right in English, Hebrew and much of central Europe.
- Nana — A household nickname drawn from the middle of the name, mostly used by younger siblings and grandparents.
- Dan — Occasional and informal; more often heard as a man's name, so it rarely travels outside the family.
Demi
DEM-ee
Stress on the first syllable, first vowel as in 'them'. Because the French word 'demi' is said duh-MEE, some people reach for that pronunciation on first sight; a single correction usually settles it.
- Demi — Already the short form of Demetria, and now overwhelmingly used as a complete given name on its own.
- Dem — Casual clip heard among friends and siblings; not used on paper.
- Demi-Leigh — A compound extension rather than a shortening, found mainly in British and South African usage; also registered as a full name in its own right.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Danna if you want…
- a name fewer children share#394 in 2025 — danna will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 93 places on the charts in five years
Choose Demi if you want…
- a name most people already know#380 in 2025, 804 babies that year
- a name holding steadyDemi is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Danna
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight in both English and Spanish, with no silent letters and nothing to spell out beyond the double n.
- The doubled n does a job: it signals the short-a pronunciation and separates the name from Dana.
- Comes with Dani already established, a short form thousands of Danielas and Danielles have used for generations.
To consider
- Dana is the far more familiar spelling, so expect the extra n to be dropped on forms and rosters, and expect DAY-nuh from people reading it cold. A one-line correction, but a lifelong one.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled between the Danish surname reading and the Hebrew one. If you want a single clean answer to give relatives, this name will not hand you one.
- Dani is shared with every Daniela, Daniella and Danielle in the room, which is a lot of them — the full name stays distinctive, the nickname does not.
Demi
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and no silent parts — it is spelled the way it sounds and rarely needs repeating.
- Works as a full legal name and as an everyday nickname at once, so no shortening is required.
- Sits at the end of a documented line running from Greek through Latin into English, with living relatives like Dimitra and Dmitri still in daily use abroad.
To consider
- In English, 'demi-' is a prefix meaning half or partial — demigod, demitasse. Most people never think of it, but the association is there for anyone who does.
- People often assume it must be short for something and ask for the longer version. Demetria is the honest answer, whether or not it is on the birth certificate.
- Its record in the US is recent, and living bearers skew young. A child named Demi is unlikely to meet an older one, which cuts both ways: no crowd, but no ready-made familiarity either.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Danna and Demi in full.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -na
- Hometown favorites: names only one state loves
- Pop star names on birth certificates
- Names ending in -i
- all guides
Where Danna and Demi each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Danna or Demi — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Danna or Demi?
- Demi, in 2025: Demi ranked #380 with 804 babies; Danna ranked #394 with 787 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Danna or Demi?
- Danna. Over the last five years Danna moved up 93 places; Demi moved down 41 places.
- Which is the older name, Danna or Demi?
- Danna entered the US charts in 1916; Demi entered the US charts in 1964. On the American record, Danna is the older name.
- How many people are named Danna and Demi?
- About 24,000 people named Danna are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 14,500 people named Demi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Dannas or Demis in the classroom?
- Danna will almost certainly be the only one in school. Demi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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