Dana
Meaning
traditionally 'God is my judge', feminine form of Daniel
The story
Dana is traditionally read as a feminine form of Daniel, the Hebrew name meaning God is my judge, though it has always worn its origins lightly. For much of its American life it moved easily between sons and daughters, a short, unfussy name that belonged fully to neither column, and that flexibility became part of its charm. Its curve is a long, gentle hill: quietly present in the earliest records, climbing steadily through the postwar decades, and cresting in the 1960s and 1970s, when it sat comfortably among the era's crisp, modern-sounding choices for girls. Since then it has eased down at the same unhurried pace it rose, never crashing out of fashion so much as stepping politely back. What remains is a name that feels level-headed and clear, two soft syllables that ask for nothing and wear well everywhere.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dana peaked in the 1960s and the 1970s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
607 people · the #11,693 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 333,333 · median age 23
Among people named Dana living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 61 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Dana
Most people given the name Dana in the United States were born between 1960 and 1989. The Dana you meet today is most often in her 40s or 50s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Dana deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dana truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Dana fits with your family’s names and surname.
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