Dana ( or ) as a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

may have several origins. In England, it came from ''dann'', the valley of a meadow, and it may mean the dweller of that valley. In Continental Europe, it probably came from ''

Dane Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

'' (or Danish, from Denmark). This surname is related to Danese in Italy and it can be found mostly in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region. It may also be a modification of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

French origin, probably a variant of '' d'Aunay'', of geographical origin. It may be also a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

, since it is a common forename in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Dana is a relatively common surname in the US, ranking 7161 out of 88,799 in the 1990 U.S. Census. Dana is also the Persian word for wisdom. At least into the first half of the 19th century, many American Danas were descended or of close relatives to Richard Henry Dana, who arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts around 1640.Dana title also found in India.In India ,all Dana title bearing peoples are Hindu.

People with the surname Dana

* Amasa Dana (1792–1867), American congressman (D-NY) *

Audrey Dana Audrey Dana (born 21 September 1977) is a French actress and film director. Life and career Dana studied drama in Orléans and Paris. After two years in New York City, she went back to France where she acted in various plays, including '' Nos am ...

, French actress *Bill Dana, see William Dana (disambiguation) * Charles Dana (disambiguation) * Daniel Dana (1771–1859), American educator, president of Dartmouth College *

Deane Dana Deane Dana, Jr. was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Dana was born July 9, 1926, in New York City.

(1926–2005), American politician *

Doris Dana Doris Dana (1920 – November 28, 2006) was an American translator known for having been an associate of Gabriela Mistral, the Chilean Nobel Prize winner. Dana inherited Mistral's estate following Mistral's death in January 1957. Biography Da ...

(1920–2006), American writer and translator *E. Elizabeth Dana, proprietress of

Miss Dana's School for Young Ladies Miss Dana's School for Young Ladies was a private boarding and finishing school active from 1877 to 1912, during the Gilded Age of Morristown. It was founded in 1860 as the Morris Female Institute. Its location was in Morristown, New Jersey at 1 ...

Edmund Trowbridge Dana Edmund Trowbridge Dana, Jr. (29 August 1818, in Cambridge, Massachusetts – 18 May 1869, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American lawyer and author.

(1818–1869), United States jurist *

Edward Salisbury Dana Edward Salisbury Dana (November 16, 1849 – June 16, 1935) was an American mineralogist and physicist. He made important contributions to the study of minerals, especially in the field of crystallography. Life and career E. S. Dana was born in ...

, American mineralogist and physicist * Fra M. Dana (1874–1948), American artist *

Francis Dana Francis Dana (June 13, 1743 – April 25, 1811) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777–1778 and 1784. A signer of the Articles of Confederat ...

, American lawyer *

Felipe Dana Felipe Dana (born August 1985) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Brazilian photojournalist for the Associated Press (AP). Career Dana is known for his coverage of social inequality and urban violence in Latin America and conflicts in various countri ...

, Brazilian Photographer *

George Augustus Dana George Augustus Dana (1840–1911) was an Ontario contractor and political figure. He represented Brockville in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1894 to 1898 as a Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of ...

(1840–1911), Canadian politician and playwright *

Henry Dana Henry Edmund Pulteney Dana (1820–1852) established the Native Police Corps in the Port Phillip District (later Victoria) in 1842, he was responsible for two massacres of Aboriginal people one at Barmah Lake in 1843 and the other at Snowy River i ...

(1820–1852), founder of the Native Police force in Victoria, Australia *

Jack Dana Jack Herbert Dana (December 17, 1921 – January 1983) was an American basketball player. Basketball career A forward from Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California, Dana played collegiately for Stanford University. He was a reserve on S ...

(1921–1983), American basketball player *

James Dana (disambiguation) James Dana may refer to: * James Dana (clergyman) (1735–1812), United States clergyman * James Dwight Dana (1813–1895), American geologist, mineralogist and zoologist * James Dana (mayor) (1811–1890), mayor of Charlestown, Massachusetts * Jam ...

John Dana (disambiguation) John Dana may refer to: *John W. Dana (1808–1867), American politician from Maine * John Cotton Dana John Cotton Dana (born August 19, 1856, in Woodstock, Vermont – died July 21, 1929, in Newark, New Jersey) was an American library and muse ...

Joseph Dana Joseph Dana (1742–1827) was an American clergyman. Biography Joseph Dana was born in Pomfret, Connecticut on November 2, 1742. He was a grandson of Benjamin, the third son of Richard, the progenitor of all that bear the name in the United States, ...

(1742–1827), United States clergyman *

Judah Dana Judah Dana (April 25, 1772 – December 27, 1845) was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a United States senator from Maine and as judge of the Maine Court of Common Pleas during the early 1800s. Early life Born in Pomfre ...

(1772–1845), Maine statesman and United States Senator *

Leora Dana Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress. Education Dana was born in New York City and her elder sister was Doris Dana. Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dram ...

(1923–1983), American actress * Lowell Dana (1891–1937), American football coach *

Mazen Dana Mazen Dana ( ar, مازن دعنا, 1962 – 17 August 2003) was a Palestinian journalist who worked as a Reuters cameraman. He spent a decade covering the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron in the West Bank, for which he was awarded the 2 ...

, Palestinian Reuters cameraman who was shot dead by US soldiers *

Muriel Frances Dana Muriel Frances Dana (1916 – 1997) was a child actress in thirteen silent films from 1921 to 1926, appearing in two of them as a boy, ''Hail the Woman'' and ''Can a Woman Love Twice?''. She was born in Clinton, Iowa and died in Thousand Oaks, Ca ...

(1916–1997), American child actress * Napoleon J.T. Dana (1822–1905), a career U.S. Army officer * Olive E. Dana (1859-?), American writer *

Paul Dana Paul Dana (; April 15, 1975 – March 26, 2006) was an American racing driver in the IndyCar Series. Early life Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Dana graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Before becoming a race ...

(1975–2006), American race car driver * Paul Dana (journalist) (1852–1930), American journalist * Philippe Dana (born 1959), French journalist * Reza Dana, American doctor * Richard Dana (disambiguation) *

Robert Dana Robert Dana (June 2, 1929 – February 6, 2010) was an American poet, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College and many other schools, revived ''The North American Review'' and served as its editor during the years 1964–1968 ...

(1929–2010), American poet * Sam Dana (1903–2007), American football player *

Samuel Dana Samuel Dana (June 26, 1767 – November 20, 1835) was an American lawyer and politician who served in both branches of the Massachusetts General Court, as President of the Massachusetts Senate and as a United States representative from Massachu ...

(1767–1835), Massachusetts politician, lawyer and judge * Samuel Dana (clergyman) (1739–1798), Massachusetts clergyman and politician * Samuel Luther Dana (1795–1868), a Massachusetts textile and agriculture chemist *

Samuel W. Dana Samuel Whittlesey Dana (February 13, 1760July 21, 1830) was an American lawyer and politician from Middletown, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Biography Born in Wallingford in ...

, American lawyer and politician *

Simphiwe Dana Simphiwe Dana (born 23 January 1980) is a South African singer and songwriter who works mostly in her mother tongue, the Xhosa language. Dana is also known for her creative social commentary and activism through music as a political art form. ...

, South African Xhosa singer-songwriter * Stephen Winchester Dana (born 1840), United States clergyman * Sophia Dana, nineteenth-century feminist, a Transcendentalist and later a Catholic * Susan Lawrence Dana American feminist, suffragist and member of National Women's Party *

Vic Dana Samuel Mendola (born August 26, 1942, Buffalo, New York, United States), known professionally as Vic Dana, is an American dancer and singer. Biography Discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., Dana was an excellent male dancer, particularly in tap, and ...

(born 1940), American dancer and singer *

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

(also known as Viola Flugrath, born Virginia Flugrath), silent movie actress *

Walter Dana Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, Polish-American musician * William Dana (disambiguation)

People with the surname Dana

See also