Bana
A feminine name of Old Persian origin meaning "beautiful" or "lady".
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Bana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bana today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bana births was 2013 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
2013
17 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,322
Tracked since 1990
Popularity
Bana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bana from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 104 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bana
The given name Bana has its origins in various cultures and languages, with a rich history spanning across different regions and time periods. One of the earliest known references to this name can be traced back to Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language. In Sanskrit, the word "bana" is associated with concepts like arrow, dart, or projectile, possibly referring to someone with sharp wit or a forceful personality.
In Hindi, a language derived from Sanskrit, the name Bana is often used as a shortened form of the name Banabhatta, a renowned Sanskrit poet and writer from the 7th century CE. His works, such as the Kadambari and Harsha-Charita, are considered masterpieces of Sanskrit literature.
The name Bana also has roots in the Igbo language spoken in southeastern Nigeria. Among the Igbo people, it is believed to mean "child born on the road" or "child born during a journey." This could reflect the nomadic lifestyle and travels of certain Igbo communities in the past.
In ancient Greek mythology, Bana was the name of one of the Naiads, minor deities associated with freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes. This connection to nature and water sources may have influenced the name's usage in certain regions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bana, including:
1. Bana al-Mulk (1049-1115 CE), an Arabic poet and writer from Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate era.
2. Bana Singh (1949-1987), an Indian army officer who received the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration, for his bravery during the Siachen Glacier conflict.
3. Bana the Goliard (12th century CE), a medieval Latin poet and wandering scholar associated with the Goliardic movement in Europe.
4. Bana Harbili (1951-2022), an influential Kurdish writer and activist who fought for the rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey.
5. Bana Alabed (born 2009), a Syrian author and peace activist who gained global recognition for her tweets documenting life during the Syrian Civil War as a child in Aleppo.
While the name Bana has its roots in diverse cultural backgrounds, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to be used in various parts of the world, carrying with it a rich tapestry of historical and cultural significance.
People
Bana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Bana a common name?
We classify Bana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bana most popular?
The single biggest year for Bana was 2013, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bana is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.