Danaya
Feminine · “Greek Danae”
Danae was shut in a bronze chamber because an oracle said her son would kill her father. Zeus reached her as a shower of gold, and the son was Perseus. It is one of the most painted scenes in European art, and the gold is usually the point.
How old is the name Danaya?
Danaya first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Danaya alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 800 people named Danaya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Danaya most popular?
Danaya peaked in 2005, reaching #3126 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 6,331 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Where it comes from
From Danae to Danaya
The story of Danaya
Acrisius of Argos was told by an oracle that his daughter's son would kill him, so he shut Danae in an underground bronze chamber. Zeus came to her as a shower of gold and she bore Perseus; both were put to sea in a chest and washed up on Seriphos. Perseus later killed Acrisius by accident with a discus, which is how oracles work in Greek narrative. The shower of gold made the story irresistible to painters, and Titian, Correggio, Rembrandt, Klimt and Gentileschi all took it up; the gold has been read as divine presence and, from antiquity onward, as a comment on what money can buy. The Danaans, the people named for her descendants, are one of the three words Homer uses for the Greek side at Troy, alongside Achaeans and Argives.
Meaningscholars disagree
Greek Danae, of disputed meaning
Danaya is most likely an American formation on Danae or on the Da- prefix with an -aya ending. Danae is the mother of Perseus in Greek myth; her name is connected to the Danaans, one of Homer's words for the Greeks, and its meaning is not established. The record does not distinguish the two possible sources. The peak is 2005.
How the name formed
- Danae
- Danaya
Related forms: Danae · Danaia
Pronouncing Danaya
dah-NY-ah
Three syllables, stress on the second. Greek Danae is DAN-ah-ee with three syllables and a different stress, so the two are said quite differently.
Nicknames for Danaya
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
- 1979
- Most girls named
- 200550 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3126reached in 2005
- Change vs 2024
- −9.1%10 in 2025, from 11
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.
Danaya in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Danae in Greek — related form
- Danaia in English — spelling variant
Danayas among us
people named Danaya are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Danaya
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Annalea test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Danaya's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Annalea climbed just as high around 1923, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Annalea's path sketches the road Danaya is walking now.
Danaya 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
Danaya beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Danaya in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Dana and Naya are both complete names as short forms.
- Three syllables with clear middle stress.
- The vowels are open and easy.
- Danae and Danaya are said differently.
- The meaning of the Greek name is not established.
- Danaya and Danaia compete as spellings.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Danaya 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 Danaya? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Danaya
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Danayas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Danaya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Danaya in 2025?
- Danaya ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Danaya?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Danaya — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Danaya with classmates?
- Danaya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Danaya
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Danaya? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Danaya 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