Danna
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "lady" or "noble lady".
Name Census estimates that about 22,548 living Americans carry the first name Danna. It sits at #306 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Danna today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Danna births was 2010 (1,231 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Danna. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Danna with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Danna is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 134 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
23K
~ 1 in 15,201 Americans
Peak year
2010
1,231 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2010 SSA rank
#306
Tracked since 1916
Census
Danna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 17,342 people with the first name Danna, which placed it at #1,745 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,745
National first-name rank
People counted
17K
17,342 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
50.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danna is Hispanic at 50.2%. The next largest groups are White (40.0%) and Black (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Danna described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Danna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino50.2% · 8,713
- White40.0% · 6,934
- Black or African American5.2% · 894
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 374
- Two or more races1.9% · 323
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 104
Gender
Gender distribution for Danna
Out of the 24,449 babies given the name Danna since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Danna as a male name
- Ranked #12,661 in 2010
- 5 male births in 2010
- Peak: 1950 (9 births)
Danna as a female name
- Ranked #306 in 2024
- 1,002 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (1,226 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Danna leans strongly female. 17,102 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 235 male bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Danna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Danna from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6,954 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Danna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Danna 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 Danna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Danna, while Rhode Island, Mississippi, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 505 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Danna
The name Danna has its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "dana," which means "giving" or "donation." It was often associated with generosity, charity, and selflessness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Danna can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. In these sacred texts, the name is mentioned in reference to several notable figures who were known for their philanthropic acts and charitable deeds.
During the medieval period, the name Danna gained popularity in various parts of South Asia, particularly among Hindus and Buddhists. It was often given to individuals who were known for their compassionate nature and acts of kindness towards others.
In the 12th century CE, a renowned Buddhist scholar and monk named Danna Shri was revered for his contributions to the study and propagation of Buddhist teachings. His works and teachings had a profound impact on the Buddhist community of the time.
Another notable figure bearing the name Danna was a 16th-century Indian philanthropist and social reformer, Danna Bhatt. She is remembered for establishing a network of shelters and charitable institutions that provided aid and support to the underprivileged and destitute.
In the realm of literature, Danna Devi, a 17th-century Indian poet, is celebrated for her poignant and evocative works that explored themes of love, devotion, and spiritual enlightenment.
Moving into more recent history, Danna Singh Brar, a 19th-century Sikh military leader and reformer, played a significant role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British colonial rule. He is remembered for his bravery and unwavering commitment to the cause of Indian independence.
Another notable figure was Danna Samant, a prominent Indian social activist and trade union leader in the 20th century, who fought tirelessly for the rights and welfare of workers and the underprivileged sections of society.
People
Danna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Danna 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
Danna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Danna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22,548 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Danna 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 15,201 US residents.
Is Danna a common name?
We classify Danna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24,449 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Danna most popular?
The single biggest year for Danna was 2010, when 1,231 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Danna is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Danna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 17,342 people with the name Danna, or 5.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,745 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Danna in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Danna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Danna leans strongly female. 17,102 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 235 male bearers (1.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Danna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danna is Hispanic at 50.2%. The next largest groups are White (40.0%) and Black (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Danna most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Danna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.2% (8,713 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Danna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Danna a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Danna 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.
Is Danna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Danna in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Danna can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Danna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.