Dana (given name)
Encyclopedia
Dana is a given name used for both males and females. 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. 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.
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 male and female 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".
, 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.
The name has multiple derivations. It may come from Dane (from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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
Danu (Irish goddess)
In Irish mythology, Danu is the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann . Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.-Name:...
, a Celtic fertility goddess. "Dana" or "Danah", in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, means "the most perfectly sized, valuable and beautiful pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
". 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
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
for both male and female sexes. While the word literally means 'knowledgeable', some speculate that the name is first used as a first name in Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
. In Hebrew the name Dana means "arbiter" or "God is my judge".
People named Dana
In the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, 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.
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 BarronDana BarronDana Barron is an American actress who has starred in film and on television. Barron is best known for her role as the original Audrey Griswold in the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation which she reprised in 2003's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure for NBC television.-Early...
, American actress - Dana BashDana BashDana Bash is an American reporter and anchorwoman for CNN who currently covers the Capitol Hill beat alongside Jessica Yellin and her husband John King. Previous to this assignment, she was a White House correspondent for the network.After completing her undergraduate political communications B.A...
, CNN News reporter and anchorwoman - Dana BealDana BealIrvin Dana Beal is an American social and political activist, best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana...
, American social and political activist - Dana H. BornDana H. BornDana H. Born is a brigadier general in the United States Air Force and is the Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is the first woman to hold that position.-Biography:...
, brigadier general in the United States Air Force - Dana BuchmanDana BuchmanDana Buchman is an upscale women's fashion brand, and its founder, Dana Buchman, an American fashion designer and creative designer of the same name. It is owned by the Liz Claiborne fashion company.-History:...
, fashion designer - Dana DeArmondDana DeArmondDana DeArmond is a pornographic actress who entered the industry in 2005.-Biography:During her teen years, DeArmond was a figure skater; she was in the same skating club as Sunny Lane...
, American pornographic actress - Dana DelanyDana DelanyDana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
, American film, stage, and television actress - Dana EllisDana EllisDana Ellis is a Canadian pole vaulter.At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Ellis finished in a 4-way tie for sixth place in the women's pole vault event....
, Canadian pole vaulter - Dana FabeDana FabeDana Anderson Fabe has been a member of the Alaska Supreme Court since March 1996. She has served two terms as the court's Chief Justice...
, lawyer, Chief Justice of Alaska Supreme Court - Dana GillespieDana GillespieDana Gillespie is an English actress and singer.-Career:Gillespie was born to the Baron De Winterstein Gillespie, an Austrian radiologist, and his wife. She grew up in England and her family's villa in Maccagno, a village on Lake Maggiore, Italy...
, English actress and singer. - Dana HalabiDana HalabiDana Halabi is a Lebanese singer and model. She was born in Kuwait on January 18, 1987. She has held many concerts throughout the Middle East and Europe, and participated in the most significant Arabic festivals. She has also featured in many music videos, TV programs, and magazines...
, Lebanese pop singer, usually referred to simply as Dana - Dana Hart, American poet and adventuress
- Dana HillDana HillDana Hill was an American actress and voice actor with a raspy voice and childlike appearance, which allowed her to play adolescent roles into her 30s...
, American actress and voice actor - Dana Hong, South Korean pop singer who member of girl group The Grace
- Dana InternationalDana InternationalSharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...
, Israeli singer (born Yaron Cohen), who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest - Dana JacobsonDana JacobsonDana Jacobson is an ESPN anchorwoman. She joined the network as an ESPNEWS anchor in December 2002 and soon became a regular anchor on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter. In March 2005, she was named co-host of Cold Pizza, and transitioned with the show as it became ESPN First Take...
, American sports journalist and ESPN anchor - Dana KimmellDana KimmellDana Kimmell is an American actress who has starred in movies and on television. She played Dawn Marshall on Texas and appeared on Days of our Lives as Diane Parker from 1983-1984.-Early Life:...
, American actress - Dana Elaine Owens, also known as Queen LatifahQueen LatifahDana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
, American rap artist and singer and actress - Dana PerinoDana PerinoDana Maria Perino is an American political commentator for Fox News. She served as the White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush from September 14, 2007 to January 20, 2009...
, White House Press Secretary - Dana PlatoDana PlatoDana Michelle Plato was an American actress notable for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.Plato appeared in over 100 television commercials as a young girl...
, American actress - Dana PriestDana PriestDana Priest is an American author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Priest has worked almost 20 years for The Washington Post. As one of the Post's specialists on National Security she has written many articles on the United States' "War on terror." In 2006 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Beat...
, journalist and author, National Security Correspondent for the Washington Post - Dana QuercioliDana QuercioliDana Quercioli is a stage and film actress, and alumna of Cabaret Dada and The Second City.She graduated from West Geauga High School, Chesterland, Ohio and currently attends Cleveland State University.-External links:...
- Dana ReeveDana ReeveDana Reeve was an American actress, singer, and activist for disability causes. She was the widow of actor Christopher Reeve.-Early life and family:...
, American actress - Dana Rosemary ScallonDana Rosemary ScallonDana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....
, Irish singer, winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest - Dana van DrevenDana van DrevenDana van Dreven also known as DJ Lady Dana, is a Dutch hardstyle and previously gabber DJ and producer.Van Dreven was born in Amsterdam. She started playing gabber in 1993 and though it was never her intention to become a DJ, she did, and is now the most popular female DJ on the Dutch hard dance...
, also known as DJ Lady Dana, Dutch disc jockey - Dana ZátopkováDana ZátopkováDana Zátopková was a Czech javelin thrower. She won the gold medal for javelin in the 1952 Summer Olympics , and the silver medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. She was the European champion in 1954 and 1958...
, Czech javelin athlete, Olympic gold and wife of runner Emil Zátopek - Dana SparksDana SparksDana Sparks is an American television actress.-Biography:Sparks is most well-known for her work as JAG lawyer Lt Commander Carolyn Imes in JAG. She is also noted for her roles as Vicki Giobertti in Falcon Crest and as Grace Bennett/Faith Standish in Passions. Sparks reprised the role of Grace in...
- Dana StabenowDana StabenowDana Stabenow is an American author who has written science fiction, mystery, and suspense/thriller novels. Many of Stabenow's books are set in her home state of Alaska, where she was raised by her single mother who lived and worked on a fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. Stabenow received a B.A...
, Alaskan author - Dana VollmerDana VollmerDana Vollmer is an American college and international swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece she won a gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Natalie Coughlin, Kaitlin Sandeno, and Carly Piper that set the world record in the event.She has won...
, American swimmer - Dana van DrevenDana van DrevenDana van Dreven also known as DJ Lady Dana, is a Dutch hardstyle and previously gabber DJ and producer.Van Dreven was born in Amsterdam. She started playing gabber in 1993 and though it was never her intention to become a DJ, she did, and is now the most popular female DJ on the Dutch hard dance...
, also known as DJ Lady Dana, a Dutch DJ - Dana WortleyDana Wortley-External links:*...
, Australian politician - Dana WynterDana WynterDana Wynter was a German-born British actress, who was brought up in England and Southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than forty years beginning in the 1950s, most notably in the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.-Early life:Wynter was born as Dagmar...
(born Dagmar Winter), actress
Male
- Dana AltmanDana AltmanDana Altman is an American college basketball coach. He became the head coach of the Oregon Ducks men's basketball team in April, 2010. Before then, he was head coach at Creighton University for 16 years...
, Creighton University basketball coach - Dana AndrewsDana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
, American actor - Dana AshbrookDana AshbrookDana V. Ashbrook is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the cult TV series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Personal life:...
, American actor - Dana BarrosDana BarrosDana Bruce Barros is a retired American professional basketball player from the NBA. Before the NBA he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers....
, American, owner of the Dana Barros Sports Complex - Dana W. Bartlett, American Congregationalist minister
- Dana BourgeoisDana BourgeoisDana Bourgeois is a luthier who heads a small guitar shop, Pantheon Guitars, in Lewiston, Maine.He makes traditionally styled acoustic guitars used in bluegrass and other acoustic music genres....
, luthier - Dana BrownDana BrownDana Brown is an American surfer, filmmaker, and oldest son of filmmaker Bruce Brown. His films include The Endless Summer Revisited which is made up of unused footage from The Endless Summer and The Endless Summer II , as well as some original interviews with the stars of those films...
, surfer and film-maker; son of Bruce Brown - Dana CarveyDana CarveyDana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
, American comedian who has appeared as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and in the Wayne's World movie series - Dana DaneDana DaneDana McLeese, better known by his stage name Dana Dane, is an American hip hop recording artist known for performance of humorous lyrics and for his fashion sense.-Early life:...
(born Dana McLeese), rap artist - Dana ElcarDana ElcarDana Elcar was an American television and movie character actor. Although he appeared in about 40 films, his most memorable role was on the 1980s and 1990s television series MacGyver as Peter Thornton, an administrator working for the Phoenix Foundation...
, American television and movie character actor - Dana A. DorseyDana A. DorseyDana Albert "D. A." Dorsey was a businessman, banker, and philanthropist who became one of the first African American millionaires in Florida and the American South.- Childhood, education :...
, American businessman, banker, and philanthropist - Dana GioiaDana Gioia-Poetry:It was as a poet that Gioia first began to attract widespread attention in the early 1980s, with frequent appearances in The Hudson Review, Poetry, and The New Yorker. In the same period, he published a number of essays and book reviews...
, American poet - Dana GouldDana GouldDana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
, American comedian and comedy writer - Dana KeyDana KeyDana Key was an American Christian rock guitarist, singer, and producer who was co-founder of the Christian rock group DeGarmo and Key with keyboardist Eddie DeGarmo, best friends since the first grade...
, American Christian singer and pastor - Dana LyonsDana LyonsDana Lyons is a folk music and alternative rock musician from Bellingham, Washington. He was born in Kingston, New York and graduated from Swarthmore College in 1982....
, folk music and alternative rock musician - Dana MilbankDana Milbank-Biography:He is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a member of Trumbull College, the Progressive Party of the Yale Political Union and the secret society Skull and Bones. He is a graduate of Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York...
, American journalist - Dana Carleton MunroDana Carleton MunroDana Carleton Munro, L.H.D. was an American historian, brother of Wilfred Harold Munro, born at Bristol, R.I. He was educated at Brown and in Europe at Strassburg and Freiburg. He taught at Penn , at Wisconsin until 1915, then at Princeton. Brown gave him the degree of L.H.D. in 1912...
, American historian - Dana MurzynDana MurzynDana Trevor Murzyn is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. Drafted out of the Western Hockey League , he was selected fifth overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He began his NHL career in 1985–86 with the Whalers and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team...
, former Canadian professional ice hockey league player - Dana OlsenDana OlsenDana Olsen is an American actor, film producer and screenwriter. His written works include George of the Jungle, The 'Burbs and Inspector Gadget...
, American scriptwriter - Dana PorterDana PorterDana Harris Porter was a Canadian politician and jurist.After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1921, Porter went to England to continue his studies at Balliol College, Oxford from which he graduated with a Master's degree in 1923...
, Canadian politician and jurist - Dana QuigleyDana QuigleyDana C. Quigley is an American professional golfer.Quigley was born in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1969 and turned professional in 1971....
- Dana RohrabacherDana RohrabacherDana Tyron Rohrabacher is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 45th and 42nd, serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party...
, Californian politician - Dana RosenblattDana Rosenblatt"Dangerous" Dana Rosenblatt was a left-handed professional boxer who held a variety of minor boxing titles.Rosenblatt began practicing martial arts at age 13 and earned a black belt in Tang Soo Do when he was 16...
("Dangerous"), American world champion middleweight boxer - Dana P. RoweDana P. RoweDana P. Rowe is an American musical theater composer whose works have been performed in New York and London. Much of his work has been written with lyricist John Dempsey. With Dempsey, he wrote the music for Zombie Prom , The Fix , and the stage adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick...
- Dana ScottDana ScottDana Stewart Scott is the emeritus Hillman University Professor of Computer Science, Philosophy, and Mathematical Logic at Carnegie Mellon University; he is now retired and lives in Berkeley, California...
, American mathematician - Dana SnyderDana SnyderDana Snyder is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian, best known for playing Master Shake on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force show, and the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, both part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim franchise.- Early life :Dana Snyder was born in...
- Dana StrumDana StrumDana Strum is the bassist of heavy metal band Slaughter. Before that, he was in Vinnie Vincent Invasion together with fellow bandmate, Mark Slaughter...
- Dana StubblefieldDana StubblefieldDana William Stubblefield is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. After graduating from Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio, Stubblefield attended the University of Kansas....
, American NFL defensive tackle - Dana WhiteDana WhiteDana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
, UFC President
As a fictional character
- Survival of Dana, a 1979 TV film starring Melissa Sue AndersonMelissa Sue AndersonMelissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
as a North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
high schooler who moves to Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' affluent ValleyValleyIn geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
suburb after her parents' divorce. - Dana, on the television show Angel
- Dana, the lover of Sadistik in the photo comic
- 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 AndersonMelissa Sue AndersonMelissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
- Dana Mitchell, on the show Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers
- Dana ScullyDana ScullyFBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
, main character on the television show The X-Files, portrayed by Gillian Anderson - Dana Stevens, a transsexual character featured in Chris BohjalianChris BohjalianChristopher Aram Bohjalian, who goes by the pen name Chris Bohjalian, is an American novelist. Bohjalian is the author of 14 novels, including New York Times bestsellers Midwives, "Secrets of Eden," The Law of Similars, Before You Know Kindness, The Double Bind and Skeletons at the Feast...
's novel Trans-Sister Radio - Dana SterlingDana SterlingDana Sterling is a fictional character from the Robotech anime television series. The character was adapted from the originally unrelated characters Komilia Maria Fallyna Jenius in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Jeanne Francaix in Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross...
, from the Robotech anime television series - Dana Freeling is a female character in the film PoltergeistPoltergeistA poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
(1982). - Dana Appleton is the lawyer opposite Jim Carrey in the 1997 film Liar LiarLiar LiarLiar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
. She is portrayed by Swoosie KurtzSwoosie KurtzSwoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
.
In mythology
- King Dana, a Corinthian king, son of Sisyphus and Merope
- Danu, the founding goddess of the Tuatha De Danaan