The Dana surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,723 people carried this name — #6,008 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 51,500 people counted. That is up 7% from 5,335 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Dana surname
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dana» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 669 people named Dana live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
297 people named Dana have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 337 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 11 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 251 people named Dana.
Most of them — 183 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 16 départements, most often Aisne.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
65 people named Dana live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
53 people named Dana is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Dana,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Richard Dana 1700–1772 · lawyer -
Giovanni Pietro Maria Dana 1736–1801 · botanist -
Joseph Dana 1742–1827 · Christian minister -
Francis Dana 1743–1811 · judge -
Samuel W. Dana 1760–1830 · judge -
James Dana 1735–1812 · pastor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Dana.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Dana is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.