Dana
Feminine
Dana is given to both — 193,555 girls and 53,287 boys since 1880. See Dana as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Dana is a name that arrived at the same four letters from several different directions — a New England surname pressed into service as a first name, a Hebrew feminine of Dan, a Czech and Slovak short form used on its own for generations. Two syllables, no silent letters, no shortening required. It has been on American records since the nineteenth century and is still strongly represented among adults today.
How old is the name Dana?
Dana first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical Dana alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 178,000 people named Dana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dana most popular?
Dana peaked in 1971, reaching #44 nationally. Today it ranks #1027, 983 places below that high. See the whole 1971 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Dana
The English-language Dana begins as a family name, well established in New England, which crossed over into first-name use in the nineteenth century — as surnames often did then, and mostly on boys at first. Quite separately, Dana exists in Hebrew as a feminine name built on Dan, and in Czech and Slovak as a name in its own right, where it also does duty as the short form of Daniela and Bohdana. Those roads met in American English during the twentieth century, when the name shifted decisively toward girls without ever fully leaving boys behind. The result is a name that needs no translation in half a dozen countries: same spelling, same two syllables, different history behind it in each.
Meaningscholars disagree
Either "judge" (through Hebrew Dan) or no lexical meaning at all — a surname turned given name
Three serious readings compete, and which one applies depends on the family. In Hebrew, Dana is read as a feminine form of Dan, from the root meaning "he judged." In English, Dana is an old surname — of disputed origin, sometimes tied to "Dane" — that became a first name, and a surname carries no translatable meaning. In Czech and Slovak, Dana works as an independent name and as a short form of Daniela and Bohdana. Persian dānā, "wise," is a separate word that matches the spelling. None of these cancels the others out.
Pronouncing Dana
DAY-nuh
DAY-nuh is the standard American reading. DAH-nuh is equally correct and is the usual pronunciation in Hebrew, Czech and Slovak, so both turn up in American families — worth deciding early which one is yours, because people will guess.
Nicknames for Dana
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1882
- Most girls named
- 19706,406 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #44reached in 1971
- Change vs 2022
- −3.6%244 in 2025, from 253
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dana in Czech — same name
- Dana in Slovak — same name
- Dana in Romanian — same name
- Dana in Hebrew — transliteration
- Danuše in Czech — related form
- Daniela in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Danas among us
people named Dana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,587 born in 2025 was named Dana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Dana
- #1027
- Dana on the 2025 chart
- #299
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Dana went to 244 girls in 2025, but Danna, Danah and Dannah are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 1,053, which makes it the 299th most-given girls’ name of the year — 728 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 1,526 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 6,587 for Dana itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Joanne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Joanne climbed just as high around 1935, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Joanne's path sketches the road Dana is walking now.
Dana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Dana is headed
Dana should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, two syllables, and spelled exactly as the common American pronunciation sounds — rarely needs repeating or correcting in writing.
- Works unchanged in Czech, Slovak, Romanian and Hebrew, which is unusual for a name this brief.
- Complete as it stands: no nickname is required, though Dani is there if wanted.
- A long unbroken run in American records rather than a single burst, so it is familiar to almost everyone without being everywhere now.
- Two live pronunciations, DAY-nuh and DAH-nuh, and no way to signal which from the spelling. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections in one direction or the other.
- The name reads as a grown-up's to many American ears, since it is far better represented among adults than among children right now. That cuts both ways: instantly recognizable, but rarely worn by anyone small.
- Dana has a genuine masculine line in English, through the surname, and still appears on men. A daughter named Dana may occasionally be assumed male on paper; a son named Dana will be the rarer case by a wide margin.
- Similar-sounding neighbors — Donna, Dania, Danna, Daniela — mean the name is sometimes misheard rather than misspelled.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dana to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Dana? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Dana
Feminine · #1027 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Danas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 178,000 people named Dana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Dana?
- Dana is one of 4 recorded spellings. Danna is the more common one — 787 births in 2025 against 244 for Dana.
- How popular is the name Dana in 2025?
- Dana ranks #1027 among US girl names in 2025, with 244 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dana?
- About 1 in every 6,587 US girls born in 2025 was named Dana — 244 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dana with classmates?
- Dana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Waverly#1027 · Naiari#1029 · Alexa#1029 · Jolie#1029 · Ripley#1029 · Serafina#1022 · Maylee#1022 · Yamileth#1022
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dana and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle