Delana
Feminine
Names beginning De- in American records come from two completely unrelated places. One is the Spanish and French particle de, meaning of, frozen onto a surname: Deleon, Delacroix, Devaughn. The other is an American prefix with no meaning at all, invented for building names. Delana is the second kind.
How old is the name Delana?
Delana first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Delana alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 3,700 people named Delana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Delana most popular?
Delana peaked in 1969, reaching #1117 nationally. Today it ranks #8860, 7,743 places below that high. See the whole 1969 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Lana to Delana
Our story of Delana
It is worth separating the two De- families carefully, because they look identical and are nothing alike. In Deleon, Delarosa and Devalle the de is a preposition doing grammatical work: it means of, it attaches to a place or a thing, and the whole is a Spanish surname of a documented type. In Delana, Deshawn and Denisha the De- is a syllable with no content, part of a small prefix inventory that American parents have used to build first names since the early twentieth century. The two can be told apart by what follows. A genuine particle is followed by a noun that can stand alone as a word or a place: Leon, la Rosa, la Cruz. An American prefix is followed by a stem that only exists inside names: -shawn, -lana, -nisha. Delana's 1969 peak puts it in the middle of the prefix era rather than anywhere near the Spanish surnames.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Delana has no inherited etymology. It joins the American prefix De- to the stem Lana, itself a shortening of Svetlana and of Alana with no meaning of its own in English. A minority of bearers may have it as a contraction of Adelina or Delaine, both of which are real names, but nothing distinguishes the two routes in the record. Deleon in the same rank band shows the other, genuinely Spanish, use of the same two letters. The peak is 1969.
How the name formed
- Lana
- Delana
Related forms: Delaina · Dalana
Pronouncing Delana
deh-LAH-nah
Three syllables, stress on the second. Some bearers say deh-LAY-nah with the a of lane. Both are in use and the spelling does not decide.
Nicknames for Delana
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
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 197092 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1117reached in 1969
- Change vs 2023
- +22.2%11 in 2025, from 9
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.
Delana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Delaina in English — spelling variant
- Dalana in English — spelling variant
Delanas among us
people named Delana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 146,115 born in 2025 was named Delana
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 Wynell test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Delana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Wynell climbed just as high around 1932, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Wynell's path sketches the road Delana is walking now.
Delana 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
Delana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Delana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lana and Dee are both usable short forms and both are names.
- Three syllables with middle stress, the standard modern rhythm.
- The letters are all read the way they look.
- The middle vowel has two pronunciations and the spelling settles neither.
- Delaney and Delaina compete closely.
- The De- prefix dates it to the middle of the twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Delana
Feminine · #8860 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Delanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Delana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Delana in 2025?
- Delana ranks #8860 among US girl names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Delana?
- About 1 in every 146,115 US girls born in 2025 was named Delana — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Delana with classmates?
- Delana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Delana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lida#8860 · Lauretta#8860 · Dot#8860 · Bonita#8860 · Benita#8860 · Trixie#8860 · Adna#8860 · Sue#8860
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Delana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Delana and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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