Head to head · Girls' names
Danna vs Regina
#394 vs #395 in 2025
Danna is a whisker ahead (#394 vs #395 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Danna is climbing the charts fast, Regina is holding its place on the charts.
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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
The tape is even: Danna and Regina each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1880s: Danna —, Regina #251 — Regina higher
- 1890s: Danna —, Regina #231 — Regina higher
- 1900s: Danna —, Regina #208 — Regina higher
- 1910s: Danna #4616, Regina #193 — Regina higher
- 1920s: Danna #3550, Regina #194 — Regina higher
- 1930s: Danna #1824, Regina #232 — Regina higher
- 1940s: Danna #933, Regina #194 — Regina higher
- 1950s: Danna #835, Regina #130 — Regina higher
- 1960s: Danna #676, Regina #88 — Regina higher
- 1970s: Danna #874, Regina #112 — Regina higher
- 1980s: Danna #1186, Regina #197 — Regina higher
- 1990s: Danna #1608, Regina #395 — Regina higher
- 2000s: Danna #758, Regina #615 — Regina higher
- 2010s: Danna #474, Regina #501 — Danna higher
- 2020s: Danna #367, Regina #379 — Danna higher
Regina stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Danna has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Danna | Regina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #251 |
| 1890s | — | #231 |
| 1900s | — | #208 |
| 1910s | #4616 | #193 |
| 1920s | #3550 | #194 |
| 1930s | #1824 | #232 |
| 1940s | #933 | #194 |
| 1950s | #835 | #130 |
| 1960s | #676 | #88 |
| 1970s | #874 | #112 |
| 1980s | #1186 | #197 |
| 1990s | #1608 | #395 |
| 2000s | #758 | #615 |
| 2010s | #474 | #501 |
| 2020s | #367 | #379 |
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.
Regina
queen
From Latin regina, queen. In Christian use it echoes Mary's title Regina Caeli, Queen of Heaven.
regina → Regina
How it traveled
The Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen, is one of the oldest hymns to Mary, sung at the close of the day, and Columbus's journal records his crews singing it at dusk on the Atlantic. The name came from that devotion into Catholic families across Europe and America.
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.
Regina
ruh-JEE-nuh
Stress on the second syllable. The Canadian city is ruh-JY-nuh, and in German and Italian the g is hard: reh-GEE-nah.
- Gina — The most common short form, a name in its own right.
- Reggie — A lively short form, more often a boy's.
- Ina — Taken from the end; soft and quiet.
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 on the way upup 93 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesDanna is 2 syllables to Regina's 3
- a newer arrivalDanna entered the US charts in 1916
Choose Regina if you want…
- a name holding steadyRegina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itRegina runs 3 syllables, Danna 2
- a long American recordRegina was already in use when US records began in 1880
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.
Regina
Strengths
- Its meaning, queen, is clear and dignified.
- Gina, Reggie and Ina give three different short forms.
- It is familiar across many languages.
To consider
- Many people associate it with a particular generation of women.
- The city's name is said differently, and some will make rhyming jokes about it.
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 Regina in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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
- One-decade wonders
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Names with only one spelling
- all guides
Where Danna and Regina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Danna or Regina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Danna or Regina?
- Danna, in 2025: Danna ranked #394 with 787 babies; Regina ranked #395 with 786 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Danna or Regina?
- Danna. Over the last five years Danna moved up 93 places; Regina moved up 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Danna or Regina?
- Danna entered the US charts in 1916; Regina was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Regina is the older name.
- How many people are named Danna and Regina?
- About 24,000 people named Danna are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Regina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Dannas or Reginas in the classroom?
- Danna will almost certainly be the only one in school. Regina 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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