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Dana (given name)

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Dana
PronunciationUK: /ˈdɑːnə/ DAHN-ə
US: /ˈdeɪnə/ DAYN-ə
GenderUnisex
Origin
Word/nameMultiple
MeaningPearl, wise, arbiter, God is my judge, generous, short for Bogdana, Yordana or Daniela
Region of originGlobal
Other names
Related namesDena

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.[1] 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.

Derivations

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The name has multiple derivations. Dana or Danah, in Arabic, means 'the most perfectly sized, valuable and beautiful pearl'.[2] 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.[3] The name is used in Persian for both female and male sexes.

It may also refer to the mountain Dana or Dena. 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 is the feminine form of Dan, and 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). The name Dana itself is used in Brunei, particularly after the 2000s.

Pronunciation

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The name Dana has multiple pronunciations around the world, therefore multiple regions may have different pronunciations.[4][5][6]

People with the name

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Female

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Male

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Disambiguation

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Fictional characters with the name

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  • 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 video games Pokémon X and Y

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dana: Popularity for Dana in the United States". Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  2. ^ "دانة" [Danah] (in Arabic). WebTeb. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Abstractions". Persian Online. The University of Texas at Austin. 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. ^ فـورڤو, فريق عمل. "نٌطق Dana : كيف تنطق Dana فى الرومانية, الإنجليزية, البولندية, الألمانية, السلوفاكية, التركية القديمة, السلوفانية, الجاوية, المجرية, الأيرلندية, الأذربيجانية, الإندونيسية, التشيكية, التركية, السبرانتوية". Forvo.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  5. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  6. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
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