Dana is a given name used for both females and males. It was among the 100 most popular names given to girls born in the United States between 1960 and 1990. It has since fallen in popularity and was ranked the 446th most popular name given to girls born in the United States in 2007.[1] As a male forename it is well known in the United States, being in the 314th rank out of 1219 in the 1990 U.S. Census.
The name has multiple derivations. It may come from Dane (from Denmark), the meaning of the common surname. It is also occasionally regarded as a feminine version of Daniel or a short version of feminine names such as Bogdana or Yordana. Dana is also an alternate spelling of the name for Danu, a Celtic fertility goddess. "Dana" or "Danah", in Arabic, means "the most perfectly sized, valuable and beautiful pearl". This name is used mainly by Arabs of the Persian Gulf, due to their traditional pearl diving professions wherein they gave different type of pearls names. It is used in the Arab world as a female name. The name is used in Persian for both female and male sexes. While the word literally means 'knowledgeable', some speculate that the name is first used as a first name in Shahnameh. In Hebrew the name Dana means "arbiter" or "God is my judge".
[edit] People named Dana
In the English language, Dana is mostly pronounced "DAY-na," as in Dana Carvey. For example, those descended from Celtic heritage and the United Kingdom use the “DAY-na” pronunciation. In most of the world this name is pronounced "DAH-NA," as in Dana Bash. Occasionally, the "DAN-A" (rhymes with Montana) pronunciation is used. Dana can be pronounced "Day-na" for boys or "Da-nah" for girls.
[edit] Female
- Dana (Korea), a South Korean pop singer who is part of girl group TSZX the Grace
- Dana Baitz, Toronto-based popular musician and musicologist
- Dana Barron, American actress
- Dana Bash, CNN News reporter and anchorwoman
- Dana H. Born, brigadier general in the United States Air Force
- Dana Buchman, fashion designer
- Dana DeArmond, American pornographic actress
- Dana Delany, American film, stage, and television actress
- Dana Ellis, Canadian pole vaulter
- Dana Fabe, lawyer, Chief Justice of Alaska Supreme Court
- Dana Gillespie, English actress and singer.
- Dana Halabi, Lebanese pop singer, usually referred to simply as Dana
- Dana Hart, American poet and adventuress
- Dana Hill, American actress and voice actor
- Dana Hong, South Korean pop singer who member of girl group The Grace
- Dana International, Israeli singer (born Yaron Cohen), who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest
- Dana Jacobson, American sports journalist and ESPN anchor
- Dana Kimmell, American actress
- Dana Elaine Owens, also known as Queen Latifah, American rap artist and singer and actress
- Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary
- Dana Plato, American actress
- Dana Priest, journalist and author, National Security Correspondent for the Washington Post
- Dana Quercioli
- Dana Reeve, American actress
- Dana Rosemary Scallon, Irish singer, winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest
- Dana van Dreven, also known as DJ Lady Dana, Dutch disc jockey
- Dana Zátopková, Czech javelin athlete, Olympic gold and wife of runner Emil Zátopek
- Dana Sparks
- Dana Stabenow, Alaskan author
- Dana Vollmer, American swimmer
- Dana van Dreven, also known as DJ Lady Dana, a Dutch DJ
- Dana Wortley, Australian politician
- Dana Wynter (born Dagmar Winter), actress
- Dana Altman, Creighton University basketball coach
- Dana Andrews, American actor
- Dana Ashbrook, American actor
- Dana Barros, American, owner of the Dana Barros Sports Complex
- Dana W. Bartlett, American Congregationalist minister
- Dana Beal, American social and political activist
- Dana Bourgeois, luthier
- Dana Brown, surfer and film-maker; son of Bruce Brown
- Dana Carvey, American comedian who has appeared as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and in the Wayne's World movie series
- Dana Dane (born Dana McLeese), rap artist
- Dana Elcar, American television and movie character actor
- Dana A. Dorsey, American businessman, banker, and philanthropist
- Dana Gioia, American poet
- Dana Gould, American comedian and comedy writer
- Dana Key, American Christian singer and pastor
- Dana Lyons, folk music and alternative rock musician
- Dana Milbank, American journalist
- Dana Carleton Munro, American historian
- Dana Murzyn, former Canadian professional ice hockey league player
- Dana Olsen, American scriptwriter
- Dana Porter, Canadian politician and jurist
- Dana Quigley
- Dana Rohrabacher, Californian politician
- Dana Rosenblatt ("Dangerous"), American world champion middleweight boxer
- Dana P. Rowe
- Dana Scott, American mathematician
- Dana Snyder
- Dana Strum
- Dana Stubblefield, American NFL defensive tackle
- Dana White, UFC President
[edit] As a fictional character
- Survival of Dana, a 1979 TV film starring Melissa Sue Anderson as a North Dakota high schooler who moves to Los Angeles' affluent San Fernando Valley suburb after her parents' divorce.
- Dana, on the television show Angel
- Dana, the lover of Sadistik in the photo comic
- Dana Taylor, the former name of Zach Young on the television show Desperate Housewives
- Dana Barrett, featured in the Ghostbusters movies, played by actress Sigourney Weaver
- Dana Fairbanks, main character from Showtime's lesbian drama series The L Word, played by actress Erin Daniels
- Dana Foster, fictional character on Step By Step, portrayed by Staci Keanan
- Dana Lee, title character in TV film Survival of Dana (1979) played by Melissa Sue Anderson
- Dana Mitchell, on the show Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers
- Dana Scully, main character on the television show The X-Files, portrayed by Gillian Anderson
- Dana Stevens, a transsexual character featured in Chris Bohjalian's novel Trans-Sister Radio
- Dana Sterling, from the Robotech anime television series
- Dana Freeling is a female character in the film Poltergeist (1982), portrayed by late actress Dominique Dunne
- Dana Appleton is the lawyer opposite Jim Carrey in the 1997 film Liar Liar. She is portrayed by Swoosie Kurtz.
[edit] In mythology
[edit] See also
