Dana
Dana was given to 244 girls in 2025, #1,027 among girls’ names; 246,842 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 213,000 Americans named Dana and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (87% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 42 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Dana by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Dana mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Dana is “a female given name,”
Also “a unisex given name transferred from the surname, originally given in honor of Richard Henry Dana Jr.”
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.
/ˈdeɪ.nə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Dana?
#1,027 among girls’ names, 2025
Dana fell from #857 in 2015 to #1,027 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.18 to 0.15 per 1,000.
8,032 babies in 1971, the peak
Dana peaked in 1971, when 8,032 babies were given it (6,934 girls, #44 among girls’ names). The 269 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 3% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 244 | #1,027 | 25 | #4,156 |
| 2024 | 230 | #1,079 | 25 | #4,221 |
| 2023 | 264 | #976 | 21 | #4,773 |
| 2022 | 253 | #1,022 | 20 | #4,882 |
| 2021 | 231 | #1,081 | 25 | #4,135 |
| 2020 | 234 | #1,060 | 27 | #3,838 |
| 2019 | 278 | #953 | 33 | #3,433 |
| 2018 | 318 | #853 | 31 | #3,547 |
| 2017 | 280 | #943 | 30 | #3,600 |
| 2016 | 322 | #873 | 33 | #3,376 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 326 | #857 | 37 | #3,095 |
| 2014 | 353 | #795 | 37 | #3,045 |
| 2013 | 373 | #733 | 29 | #3,597 |
| 2012 | 455 | #628 | 40 | #2,912 |
| 2011 | 469 | #617 | 40 | #2,912 |
| 2010 | 654 | #463 | 45 | #2,691 |
| 2009 | 574 | #528 | 57 | #2,294 |
| 2008 | 681 | #465 | 63 | #2,145 |
| 2007 | 728 | #441 | 74 | #1,915 |
| 2006 | 809 | #397 | 64 | #2,065 |
| 2005 | 791 | #397 | 74 | #1,775 |
| 2004 | 704 | #429 | 65 | #1,884 |
| 2003 | 800 | #379 | 78 | #1,612 |
| 2002 | 894 | #338 | 83 | #1,505 |
| 2001 | 945 | #329 | 99 | #1,313 |
| 2000 | 1,016 | #311 | 113 | #1,197 |
| 1999 | 1,323 | #239 | 113 | #1,156 |
| 1998 | 1,425 | #216 | 117 | #1,095 |
| 1997 | 1,683 | #179 | 151 | #904 |
| 1996 | 1,801 | #175 | 161 | #859 |
| 1995 | 1,757 | #170 | 186 | #782 |
| 1994 | 1,804 | #167 | 197 | #744 |
| 1993 | 1,988 | #155 | 246 | #655 |
| 1992 | 2,155 | #144 | 271 | #624 |
| 1991 | 2,412 | #131 | 335 | #554 |
| 1990 | 2,936 | #114 | 346 | #532 |
| 1989 | 2,997 | #105 | 358 | #504 |
| 1988 | 3,192 | #90 | 385 | #463 |
| 1987 | 3,422 | #83 | 419 | #429 |
| 1986 | 3,076 | #92 | 467 | #390 |
| 1985 | 3,348 | #82 | 482 | #375 |
| 1984 | 3,939 | #73 | 489 | #365 |
| 1983 | 3,926 | #72 | 476 | #369 |
| 1982 | 4,242 | #67 | 529 | #350 |
| 1981 | 4,246 | #70 | 542 | #339 |
| 1980 | 4,438 | #68 | 508 | #353 |
| 1979 | 4,948 | #54 | 627 | #311 |
| 1978 | 4,002 | #71 | 539 | #325 |
| 1977 | 4,339 | #62 | 638 | #304 |
| 1976 | 4,408 | #64 | 671 | #282 |
| 1975 | 4,619 | #62 | 858 | #239 |
| 1974 | 5,158 | #55 | 813 | #246 |
| 1973 | 4,934 | #59 | 1,013 | #216 |
| 1972 | 5,610 | #52 | 1,030 | #216 |
| 1971 | 6,934 | #44 | 1,098 | #213 |
| 1970 | 6,406 | #54 | 1,038 | #226 |
| 1969 | 6,025 | #60 | 1,006 | #228 |
| 1968 | 5,012 | #70 | 1,021 | #222 |
| 1967 | 4,935 | #71 | 1,028 | #218 |
| 1966 | 5,278 | #68 | 1,018 | #219 |
| 1965 | 4,722 | #78 | 1,216 | #206 |
| 1964 | 6,087 | #70 | 1,355 | #206 |
| 1963 | 5,048 | #88 | 1,621 | #181 |
| 1962 | 3,964 | #117 | 1,799 | #172 |
| 1961 | 3,544 | #128 | 1,693 | #180 |
| 1960 | 3,086 | #141 | 1,670 | #187 |
| 1959 | 2,970 | #143 | 1,694 | #180 |
| 1958 | 2,389 | #162 | 1,536 | #184 |
| 1957 | 2,408 | #155 | 1,619 | #186 |
| 1956 | 2,074 | #174 | 1,634 | #178 |
| 1955 | 1,568 | #202 | 1,571 | #176 |
| 1954 | 1,352 | #217 | 1,741 | #165 |
| 1953 | 1,196 | #230 | 1,505 | #178 |
| 1952 | 1,144 | #231 | 1,378 | #183 |
| 1951 | 1,077 | #235 | 1,284 | #185 |
| 1950 | 928 | #248 | 1,198 | #184 |
| 1949 | 853 | #260 | 1,079 | #192 |
| 1948 | 745 | #280 | 1,021 | #196 |
| 1947 | 716 | #292 | 945 | #208 |
| 1946 | 709 | #273 | 580 | #260 |
| 1945 | 645 | #268 | 340 | #323 |
| 1944 | 503 | #300 | 260 | #372 |
| 1943 | 417 | #350 | 186 | #462 |
| 1942 | 314 | #405 | 162 | #481 |
| 1941 | 282 | #409 | 144 | #490 |
| 1940 | 245 | #434 | 142 | #483 |
| 1939 | 169 | #514 | 144 | #475 |
| 1938 | 151 | #557 | 132 | #508 |
| 1937 | 150 | #544 | 133 | #498 |
| 1936 | 168 | #498 | 118 | #523 |
| 1935 | 128 | #566 | 120 | #528 |
| 1934 | 95 | #686 | 128 | #513 |
| 1933 | 108 | #629 | 134 | #484 |
| 1932 | 93 | #703 | 130 | #505 |
| 1931 | 95 | #684 | 130 | #503 |
| 1930 | 75 | #818 | 123 | #538 |
| 1929 | 87 | #753 | 122 | #527 |
| 1928 | 69 | #882 | 129 | #533 |
| 1927 | 84 | #792 | 141 | #513 |
| 1926 | 80 | #816 | 114 | #583 |
| 1925 | 78 | #843 | 116 | #578 |
| 1924 | 67 | #931 | 112 | #605 |
| 1923 | 80 | #819 | 110 | #607 |
| 1922 | 65 | #908 | 128 | #559 |
| 1921 | 89 | #776 | 107 | #611 |
| 1920 | 69 | #874 | 98 | #637 |
| 1919 | 51 | #1,011 | 83 | #682 |
| 1918 | 66 | #880 | 108 | #586 |
| 1917 | 55 | #934 | 97 | #605 |
| 1916 | 45 | #1,031 | 85 | #631 |
| 1915 | 37 | #1,125 | 89 | #610 |
| 1914 | 39 | #947 | 64 | #635 |
| 1913 | 22 | #1,185 | 53 | #605 |
| 1912 | 18 | #1,258 | 45 | #614 |
| 1911 | 13 | #1,324 | 26 | #600 |
| 1910 | 21 | #946 | 19 | #683 |
| 1909 | 13 | #1,164 | 16 | #689 |
| 1908 | 15 | #1,052 | 14 | #719 |
| 1907 | 11 | #1,224 | 15 | #675 |
| 1906 | 10 | #1,241 | 15 | #622 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,570 | 15 | #621 |
| 1904 | 11 | #1,109 | 11 | #733 |
| 1903 | 14 | #937 | 9 | #803 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,643 | 9 | #806 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,524 | 11 | #645 |
| 1900 | 20 | #838 | 19 | #560 |
| 1899 | 15 | #848 | 15 | #507 |
| 1898 | 12 | #1,017 | 9 | #755 |
| 1897 | 10 | #1,051 | 7 | #865 |
| 1896 | 13 | #911 | 10 | #735 |
| 1895 | 9 | #1,141 | 12 | #613 |
| 1894 | 7 | #1,259 | 13 | #572 |
| 1893 | 8 | #1,105 | 10 | #666 |
| 1892 | 8 | #1,105 | 10 | #696 |
| 1891 | 11 | #851 | 15 | #458 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,119 | 7 | #824 |
| 1889 | under 5 | 8 | #733 | |
| 1888 | 8 | #974 | 6 | #948 |
| 1887 | under 5 | 7 | #764 | |
| 1886 | 8 | #851 | 8 | #713 |
| 1885 | 6 | #946 | 9 | #656 |
| 1884 | 10 | #694 | 11 | #579 |
| 1883 | 7 | #762 | 6 | #817 |
| 1882 | 6 | #835 | 14 | #497 |
| 1881 | under 5 | 9 | #609 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 12 | #539 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Dana a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 246,842 Americans recorded as Dana, 78% are girls and 22% boys. Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Dana every year since 1956. In 2025 it went to 244 girls and 25 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Dana: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Dana, and how old are they?
213,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 87% of the 246,842 Americans ever recorded as Dana. The median Dana alive today is 53 years old; half are between 42 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 210,579 people named Dana (172,431 women and girls, 38,148 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 220,309 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 52,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 88,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 51,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 15,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,050 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Dana born?
The states with the most babies named Dana are California, New York and Texas, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 24,693 | #758 | 1.0× |
| New York | 17,142 | #951 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 14,907 | #958 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 14,267 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 11,488 | #864 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 10,925 | #976 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 9,120 | #863 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 8,874 | #881 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 7,693 | #803 | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 6,920 | #788 | 1.0× |
Where Dana is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Dana is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Dana with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 333,606 babies since 1880, Dana is the most given (74% of them). In 2025 it was given to 269 of their 2,190 babies (12%), the fourth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Dana
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Dana and names like it
- Compare Dana and DannaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sDana peaked in 1971.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Dana since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Dana: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1971The year the most babies were named Dana.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Dana alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with DMost given first.