Dana (given name)

Dana is a unisex given name. 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. As a male forename it is well known in the United States, being in the 314th rank out of 1,219 in the 1990 U.S. Census.

The name has multiple derivations. Dana or Danah, in Arabic, means "the most perfectly sized, valuable and beautiful pearl". This name is used mainly by Arab states of the Persian Gulf (Eastern Arabia), due to their traditional pearl diving professions wherein they gave different type of pearls names. In Persian, the word Dānā literally means "Wise", and some speculate that the name is first used as a first name in Shahnameh. It may also refer to the mountain Dana or Dena. The name is used in Persian for both female and male sexes. It may also 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. In Hebrew, the name Dana means "arbiter" or "God is my judge". In Romanian and Czech, it is a feminine name, derived from the name Daniela; the masculine form being Dan/Daniel. In Sanskrit and Pali, the word means "generosity". The Sanskrit word was then used as a loanword in the Malay language and retranslated to "fund" or "alms". As part of a nationwide campaign to assist Bruneian orphans financially, the Bruneian government in 1998 announced the name "Dana" as an official acronym for "Dana Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah bagi Anak-Anak Yatim" (Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah's Fund for Orphans, also known as DANA). The acronym given is used officially until today. The name Dana itself is used in Brunei, particularly after the 2000s.

Pronunciation
The name Dana has multiple pronunciations around the world, therefore multiple regions may have different pronunciations.

USA:

Europe and Arabic World:

Female

 * Dana Al-Nasrallah (born 1988), Kuwaiti Olympic sprinter
 * Dana Anderson (born 1973), Canadian former field hockey player
 * Dana Andrews (musician), American singer and musician, contestant on the TV show Rockstar: Supernova
 * Dana Angluin, professor of computer science at Yale University
 * Dana Antal (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player, gold medalist at the 2002 Winter Olympics
 * Dana Beth Ardi, American entrepreneur, human capitalist, author, and contemporary art collector
 * Dana Barron (born 1966), American actress
 * Dana Bash (born 1971), CNN News reporter and anchorwoman
 * Dana Belben, American voice actress, animator, screenwriter, effects artist, and comedian
 * Dana Berger (born 1970), Israeli singer-songwriter and occasional actress
 * Dana Berliner, American lawyer, litigation director at the Institute for Justice
 * Dana H. Born (born 1961), brigadier general in the United States Air Force
 * Dana Bradley (died 1981), Canadian murder victim
 * Dana Broccoli, actress and novelist, wife of producer Albert R. Broccoli, mother of producer Michael G. Wilson
 * Dana Brooke (born 1988), American professional wrestler
 * Dana Brožková (born 1981), Czech orienteering competitor
 * Dana Buchman, fashion designer
 * Dana Cameron (born 1965), American archaeologist, and author of award-winning crime fiction and urban fantasy
 * Dana Cervantes (born 1978), Spanish Olympic pole vaulter
 * Dana "Pokey" Chatman (born 1969), general manager and head coach of the Chicago Sky of the WNBA
 * Dana Christina (born 1957), Indonesian actress
 * Dana Chladek (born 1963), Czechoslovak-born American Olympic slalom kayaker and coach
 * Dana Claxton (born 1959), Hunkpapa Lakota filmmaker, photographer and performance artist
 * Dana Coons (born 1978), American long-distance runner
 * Dana Cowin, magazine editor (Food & Wine, Mademoiselle, HG)
 * Dana Cuff, American architect, professor, and founding director of UCLA's cityLAB
 * Dana Tippin Cutler, lawyer and news personality
 * Dana Davis (born 1978), American actress, known for 10 Things I Hate About You and Franklin & Bash
 * Dana Dawson (1974-2010), American actress and singer
 * Dana DeArmond (born 1979), American pornographic actress
 * Dana Delany (born 1956), American film, stage, and television actress
 * Dana Dodd (1985-2006), American woman who was murdered
 * Dana Dogaru (born 1953), Romanian actress
 * Dana Dormann (born 1967), American professional golfer, also played as Dana Lofland
 * Dana Ellis (born 1979), Canadian pole vaulter
 * Dana Eskelson (born 1965), American television, film, and theater actress
 * Dana Fabe (born 1951), lawyer, Chief Justice of Alaska Supreme Court
 * Dana Faletic (born 1977), Australian Olympic rower
 * Dana Fecková (born 1987), Slovak football striker
 * Dana Ferguson (born 1987), Canadian curler
 * Dana Fischer (born 2010), American Magic: The Gathering player
 * Dana Flynn (born 1975), also known as Didem Erol, Australian-born Turkish-American actress, model, and TV host
 * Dana Fox (born 1976), American screenwriter
 * Dana Frankfort (born 1971), New York-based artist, painting professor at Boston University College of Fine Arts
 * Dana Fuchs (born 1976), American singer, songwriter, actress, and voice actress
 * Dana Gaier, American actress and singer
 * Dana Gibson, president of Sam Houston State University
 * Dana Gilbert (born 1959), American tennis player
 * Dana Gillespie (born 1949), English actress and singer
 * Dana E. Glauberman (born 1968), American film editor
 * Dana Glover (singer) (born 1974), American pop singer and songwriter
 * Dana Goldstein, American journalist and editor
 * Dana Goodyear (born 1976), American journalist, poet and author, co-founder of Figment online community
 * Dana Guth (born 1970), German politician
 * Dana Sue Gray (born 1957), American serial killer
 * Dana Hadačová (born 1983), Czech Olympic table tennis player
 * Dana Haidar (born 1993), Jordanian taekwondo competitor
 * Dana Hee (born 1961), American Olympic taekwondo competitor, motivational speaker and stuntwoman
 * Dana Hill (1964-1996), American actress and voice actor
 * Dana Hoey (born 1966), American photographer
 * Dana Humby (born 1979), former New Zealand association football player
 * Dana Hussain (born 1986), sprinter on Iraq's national track and field team
 * Dana International (born 1969), Israeli singer (stage name of Sharon Cohen), winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest
 * Dana Ivey (born 1941), American character actress
 * Dana Ivgy (born 1982), Israeli actress
 * Dana Jacobson (born 1971), American sports journalist and former ESPN anchor
 * Dana Jurásková (born 1961), Czech politician, former Minister of Health
 * Dana Kerem (born 1986), Israeli football defender
 * Dana Kimmell (born 1959), American actress
 * Dana King (born 1960), former American TV news anchor
 * Dana Kirk (born 1984), American Olympic swimmer
 * Dana Kletter (born 1959), American musician and writer
 * Dana Kuchtová (born 1961), Czech Green politician, former Minister of Education
 * Dana Levin (born 1965), American poet and creative writing instructor
 * Dana Lixenberg (born 1964), Dutch photographer
 * Dana Loesch, American conservative TV and radio host
 * Dana Mann, American slalom canoer, formerly competed for Slovakia as Dana Beňušová
 * Dana Marie, Canadian Christian rock singer
 * Dana Martanová, former Czechoslovak slalom canoer
 * Dana Marton, romantic suspense novelist
 * Dana Mathis, American pop singer and songwriter
 * Dana McCauley, Canadian chef and food writer
 * Dana McVicker, American country music singer
 * Donella H. "Dana" Meadows, American environmental scientist, teacher and writer
 * Dana Medřická, Czechoslovak film actress
 * Dana Murphy, American Republican politician from Oklahoma
 * Dana Nălbaru, Romanian singer, songwriter, and musician, member of Hi-Q
 * Dana D. Nelson, professor of English at Vanderbilt University, progressive advocate for citizenship and democracy
 * Dana Nutu, Romanian-Australian chess player and trainer, also known as Daniela Nuțu-Gajić
 * Dana Oldfather, American oil painter and dinnerware designer
 * Dana Olmert, Israeli left-wing activist, literary theorist and editor, daughter of Ehud Olmert
 * Dana Owens, also known as Queen Latifah, American rapper, singer and actress
 * Dana Perino, former White House press secretary
 * Dana Plato, American actress
 * Dana Plotogea, Romanian Olympic biathlete
 * Dana Priest, journalist and author, national security correspondent for the Washington Post
 * Dana Procházková, Czechoslovak orienteering competitor
 * Dana Protopopescu, Romanian-Belgian pianist and music instructor
 * Dana Pyritz, German Olympic rower
 * Dana Randall, professor of theoretical computer science at Georgia Tech
 * Dana Ranga, Romanian writer and film director
 * Dana Rayne, American dance and pop singer
 * Dana Reason, Canadian pianist and composer
 * Dana Reeve (1961–2006), American actress, wife of Christopher Reeve, also billed as Dana Morosini
 * Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvian politician and chess player
 * Dana Rettke (born 1999), American volleyball player
 * Dana Ron, Israeli computer scientist, professor of electrical engineering
 * Dana Rosemary Scallon, Irish singer and former politician, winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, former MEP
 * Dana Schechter, singer-songwriter with the band Bee and Flower
 * Dana Schoenfield, American Olympic swimmer
 * Dana Schutz, American painter
 * Dana Seetahal, Trinidadian politician and attorney
 * Dana Shrader, American Olympic swimmer
 * Dana Simpson, American cartoonist (Heavenly Nostrils, Ozy and Millie)
 * Dana Spálenská, Czechoslovak Olympic luger
 * Dana Spiotta, American novelist
 * Dana Stabenow, Alaskan author
 * Dana Stephensen, Australian ballerina
 * Dana Stevens (critic), movie critic at Slate magazine
 * Dana Stevens (screenwriter), American screenwriter and TV producer
 * Dana Suesse, American musician, composer and lyricist
 * Dana Swanson, American singer, actress and writer
 * Dana Syslová, Czech actress
 * Dana Telsey, American equity research analyst
 * Dana Terrace (born 1990), American cartoonist
 * Dana Thomas, American fashion and culture journalist
 * Dana Tyler, American local TV news anchor
 * Dana Ulery, American computer scientist
 * Dana Valery (born 1944), Italian-born singer and actress
 * Dana van Dreven (born 1974), also known as DJ Lady Dana, Dutch DJ
 * Dana Vavřačová (born 1954), retired Czech competitive race walker
 * Dana Vávrová (1967-2009), Czech-German film actress and director
 * Dana Velďáková (born 1981), Slovak Olympic triple jumper
 * Dana Vespoli, American pornographic actress and director
 * Dana Vollmer (born 1987), American swimmer
 * Dana Weigel, NASA flight director
 * Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (born 1960), American actress
 * Dana Winner (born 1965), Belgian singer
 * Dana Wolfe, American journalist and TV producer
 * Dana Wortley (born 1959), Australian politician
 * Dana Wright (born 1959), Canadian former hurdler
 * Dana Wynter (born Dagmar Winter), actress
 * Dana Wyse (born 1965), Canadian writer and visual artist
 * Dana Young (born 1964), American politician
 * Dana Zátopková (1922-2020), Czech javelin thrower, Olympic gold medal winner, wife of runner Emil Zátopek
 * Princess Dana Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Bahraini lawyer and fashion blogger

Male

 * Dana Allison (born 1966), American former professional baseball player
 * Dana Altman (born 1958), Oregon University basketball coach
 * Dana Andersen, Canadian actor, improvisor, filmmaker, writer and director
 * Dana Andrews (1909-1992), American actor
 * Dana Ashbrook (born 1967), American actor
 * Dana Reed Bailey (1833-1908), American politician and lawyer
 * Dana H. Ballard (1946–2022), American professor of computer science
 * Dana Barros (born 1967), American former professional basketball player, owner of the Dana Barros Sports Complex
 * Dana W. Bartlett (1860-1942), American Congregationalist minister
 * Dana Beal (born 1947), American social and political activist
 * Dana Bible (born 1953), American football coach and former player
 * Dana X. Bible (1891-1980), American football player, coach, and athletic administrator
 * Dana Boente (born 1954), Acting Attorney General of the United States
 * Dana Bourgeois (born 1953), American luthier
 * Dana Brinson (born 1965), former professional American football wide receiver
 * Dana Brown (born 1959), American surfer and film-maker, son of Bruce Brown
 * Dana Brunetti, American film producer and social networking entrepreneur
 * Dana Bullen (born 1973), director of the Press Freedom Committee, former foreign editor of The Washington Star
 * Dana Bumgardner (1954–2021), American politician
 * Dana Tai Soon Burgess (born 1968), American performance artist and choreographer
 * Dana Carvey (born 1955), American comedian who has appeared as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and in the Wayne's World movie series
 * Dana Chambers (1895-1946), pen name of the mystery novelist Albert Leffingwell
 * Dana Childs (1922-1999), Member of the Maine House of Representatives
 * Dana K. Chipman (born 1958), American military lawyer, former Judge Advocate General of the United States Army
 * Dana L. Christensen (born 1951), American federal judge, for the District of Montana
 * Dana Colley (born 1961), American musician, saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine
 * Dana Countryman (born 1954), American electronic music composer and performer, publisher of Cool and Strange Music Magazine
 * Dana Dane (born 1965 as Dana McLeese), rap artist
 * Dana DeMuth (born 1956), Major League Baseball umpire
 * Dana Deshler (1937-2012), member of the Ohio House of Representatives
 * Dana Dimel (born 1962), American football coach and former player
 * Dana A. Dorsey (1872-1940), American businessman, banker, and philanthropist
 * Dana Dow, Republican former Maine state senator
 * Dana Elcar (1927-2005), American television and movie character actor
 * Dana Evans (athletic director) (1874-1924), American athlete, coach and athletics administrator
 * Dana Eveland (born 1983), American professional baseball pitcher
 * Dana Ewell (born 1971), American convicted triple murderer
 * Dana Fillingim (1893-1961), American major league baseball pitcher
 * Dana Gioia (born 1950), American poet
 * Dana Karl Glover (born 1958), American trumpet player and music composer for video games, also known as Karl James or Dr. Dana
 * Dana Goldman, professor of economics at the University of Southern California
 * Dana Gonzales, American cinematographer
 * Dana Gould, American comedian and comedy writer
 * Dana McLean Greeley, founding president of the Unitarian Universalist Association
 * Dana Hall, former American professional football player
 * Dana Hall (musician), American jazz drummer, percussionist, composer, bandleader, and ethnomusicologist
 * Dana Hamilton, American hammered dulcimer player
 * Dana Hammond, American record producer, composer, songwriter, drummer and bass guitarist
 * Dana Heitman, trumpeter for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
 * Dana Holgorsen, American football coach and former player
 * Dana Howard (American football), former professional American football player
 * Dana Jennings, American journalist and author, New York Times editor
 * Dana Jones (basketball), former American professional basketball player
 * Dana Kafer, American college football player
 * Dana Evan Kaplan, rabbi, writer on Reform Judaism and American Judaism
 * Dana Key, American Christian rock singer and pastor
 * Dana Kiecker, former major league baseball pitcher, sportscaster
 * Dana M. King, American college football coach
 * Dana Kirk (basketball), American college basketball coach
 * Dana Knutson, American fantasy artist, known for illustrating role-playing games
 * Dana Kunze, former champion high diver
 * Dana and Ginger Lamb, American travel writer, co-wrote with his wife Ginger
 * Dana Lambert, Canadian author, politician and cannabis legalization activist
 * Dana LeVangie, American professional baseball player, scout and coach
 * Dana Lewis, Canadian TV journalist
 * Dana Lyons, folk music and alternative rock musician
 * Dana Ahmed Majid, Iraqi Kurdish politician, former governor of Sulaymaniah
 * Dana Malone, American politician, attorney general of Massachusetts
 * Dana McLemore, former professional American football cornerback
 * Dana G. Mead, American businessman, former chairman of MIT's board of trustees
 * Dana Milbank, American journalist
 * Dana Mohler-Faria, American education administrator, president of Bridgewater State University
 * Dana Carleton Munro, American historian
 * Dana Murzyn, former Canadian professional ice hockey league player
 * Dana S. Nau, professor of computer science and systems research at the University of Maryland, College Park
 * Dana Nafziger, American football player
 * Dana Nielsen, American mix engineer, audio engineer, record producer and saxophonist
 * Dana Olsen, American scriptwriter
 * Dana Pagett, American professional basketball player and coach
 * Dana Peterson, American political consultant, husband of Louisiana state senator Karen Carter Peterson
 * Dana J. H. Pittard, American major general
 * Dana Porter, Canadian politician and jurist
 * Dana Quigley, American professional golfer
 * Dana Redd, American Democratic politician, mayor of Camden, New Jersey
 * Dana G. "Buck" Rinehart, 50th mayor of Columbus, Ohio
 * Dana Rohrabacher, U.S. Representative (R-CA)
 * "Dangerous" Dana Rosenblatt, American world champion middleweight boxer
 * Dana Fuller Ross, pen name used by Western novelists Noel B. Gerson and James M. Reasoner
 * Dana P. Rowe, American musical theater composer
 * Dana Rucker, American college football coach
 * Dana Makoto Sabraw, United States federal judge
 * Dana Sawyer, American biographer and professor of religion
 * Dana Scott, American mathematician
 * Dana Adam Shapiro, American film director
 * Dana Sheridan, American flute maker
 * Dana Shires, American physician, research scientist, and inventor
 * Dana A. Simmons, American air force general
 * Dana Snyder, American comedian and actor
 * Dana Snyman, South African journalist, writer and playwright
 * Dana Stein, American Democratic politician
 * Dana Stinson, American hip hop and R&B record producer, rapper and singer, known by the stage name Rockwilder
 * Dana Stone, American photo-journalist
 * Dana Strum (born 1958), heavy metal bassist (Slaughter)
 * Dana Stubblefield (born 1970), American professional football defensive tackle
 * Dana Summers, American cartoonist (Bound and Gagged, The Middletons)
 * Dana Tomlin, American cartographer, inventor of map algebra
 * Dana Tyrell (born 1989), American professional ice hockey player
 * Dana Veth (born 1987), former Bahamian footballer
 * Dana Wachs, American lawyer and politician
 * Dana Ward (born 1957), professor emeritus of political studies at Pitzer College
 * Dana Wells (born 1966), retired American football nose tackle
 * Dana White (born 1969), President of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
 * L. Dana Wilgress (1892-1969), Canadian diplomat
 * Dana Williams (baseball) (born 1963), retired American professional baseball player
 * Dana Wilson (born 1946), American composer, jazz pianist, and teacher
 * Dana Wilson (1983-2011), Cook Islands professional rugby league player
 * Dana Zimmerman, American paralympic athlete

Fiction

 * Dana, fictional intern on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale
 * Dana, on the television show Angel
 * Dana, the title character's lover in the Italian photo comic Killing (later revived as Sadistik: The Diabolikal Super-Kriminal)
 * Dana Appleton, the lawyer opposite Jim Carrey's character in the 1997 film Liar Liar
 * Dana Barrett, featured in the Ghostbusters movies
 * Dana Carrington, minor character in the American TV series Dynasty
 * Dana Cruz, character on Zoey 101
 * Dana Dearden, obsessed Superman fan who called herself Superwoman
 * Dana Fairbanks, main character from Showtime's lesbian drama series The L Word
 * Dana Foster, fictional character on Step By Step
 * Dana Freeling, a female character in the film Poltergeist (1982)
 * Dana Iclucia female protagonist from the video game Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
 * Dana Knightstone, fictional novelist, main character of the Dana Knightstone series of games
 * Dana Lambert, regular character on the TV show Mission: Impossible
 * Dana Marschz, main character in Hamlet 2
 * Dana Mercer, younger sister of main character Alex Mercer in the video game Prototype
 * Dana Miller and Dana Defruse, two characters from Louds
 * Dana Mitchell, on the show Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers
 * Dana Monroe, from EastEnders
 * Dana Scully, one of the main characters on the television show The X-Files
 * Dana Sterling, from the Robotech anime television series
 * Dana Stevens, a fictional trans woman featured in Chris Bohjalian's novel Trans-Sister Radio
 * Dana Tan, Batman's girlfriend on the TV series Batman Beyond
 * Dana Taylor, the former name of Zach Young on the television show Desperate Housewives
 * Dana Whitaker, a character in the television series Sports Night
 * Dana Wolf, on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe
 * Dana, from the TV series, Wayside.
 * Dana, a leader of the Battle Maison in the videogames Pokémon X and Y.

Mythology

 * Danu (Irish goddess), mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, known as Dana in modern Irish