Daena
A feminine name derived from the Persian word "Dāna" meaning "wise or learned".
Name Census estimates that about 601 living Americans carry the first name Daena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daena today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daena births was 2001 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daena. 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
601
~ 1 in 570,307 Americans
Peak year
2001
18 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,818
Tracked since 1951
Popularity
Daena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daena from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 134 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daena 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 Daena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daenas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Daena
The name Daena has its roots in ancient Persian culture, dating back to the 6th century BCE. It is derived from the Avestan word "daena," meaning "religion" or "divine law." This name was particularly significant in Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest surviving religions in the world.
In the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, Daena is personified as a divine being, often depicted as a beautiful maiden who guides souls to the afterlife. She is associated with wisdom, righteousness, and the pursuit of truth. The name Daena was commonly used among adherents of this religion in ancient Persia, which encompassed parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Daena can be found in the Achaemenid inscriptions of King Darius the Great (550-486 BCE). These inscriptions, carved in the ancient Persian cuneiform script, mention the name Daena in the context of religious teachings and principles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Daena. One of the earliest recorded examples is Daena, a Persian princess and daughter of King Cyrus the Great (c. 600-530 BCE), who ruled the Achaemenid Empire. Another notable figure was Daena, a renowned Zoroastrian scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE during the Abbasid Caliphate.
In more recent times, Daena Gioia (1950-) is an American poet, critic, and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, known for his efforts to revitalize poetry in American culture. Daena Borrowman (1971-) is a Canadian actress and playwright, famous for her roles in television series like "Supernatural" and "The X-Files."
Additionally, Daena Jalal (1968-) is an Iranian-American filmmaker and writer, whose works explore themes of identity, cultural clashes, and the immigrant experience. Daena McClendon (1985-) is an American professional basketball player who has competed in the WNBA and overseas leagues.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Daena throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural and religious significance, particularly in ancient Persian and Zoroastrian contexts.
People
Daena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Daena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 601 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daena 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 570,307 US residents.
Is Daena a common name?
We classify Daena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 638 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daena most popular?
The single biggest year for Daena was 2001, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daena is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Daena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daena 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.