*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Dana

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.

3 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

An American surname. · A unisex given name transferred from the surname, originally given in honor of Richard Henry Dana Jr. · A town in Indiana; named for Charles Dana, a railroad official. · A village in Illinois; named for Thomas Dana, a railroad official.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "uncertain"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Dawnay",
      "Dawnay#English"
    ],
    [
      "Dan",
      "Dan#English"
    ],
    [
      "Daniel",
      "Daniel#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An American surname.",
        "A unisex given name transferred from the surname, originally given in honor of Richard Henry Dana Jr.",
        "A town in Indiana; named for Charles Dana, a railroad official.",
        "A village in Illinois; named for Thomas Dana, a railroad official."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "recordId": "d95ae24dee812c1d7a237b088d9b9cf0450cc33a9729c2cd81671c4ab2e4a83d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8465e03e54a861624ab4b48e8c8b54abd2c5104cd37c827c0445371a32c06e02",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 220365
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A female given name, · A village in central-west Jordan, from South Levantine Arabic ضانا. · A village in Amhara, Ethiopia, from Amharic ዳና (dana). · A town in central-west Nepal, from Nepali दाना (dānā)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Transliterations from various languages.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Transliterations",
      "transliteration"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name,",
        "A village in central-west Jordan, from South Levantine Arabic ضانا.",
        "A village in Amhara, Ethiopia, from Amharic ዳና (dana).",
        "A town in central-west Nepal, from Nepali दाना (dānā)"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "07134c8786f84875c5f37ec57d2bb42f13a4c7a6886914192b59875ad52b60a3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1a9c36c6891f3fbdd2e085f4640d3976adb9f809da95b19b909c5736105267af",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 220366
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

A village in the Gmina of Puck, Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Polish Dana.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "pl:Dana",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Polish\", \"term\" : \"Dana\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"pl\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Dana\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Dana\">\nBorrowed from Polish Dana."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "pl:Dana",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Polish Dana."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Dana",
      "Dana#Polish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A village in the Gmina of Puck, Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "10f05896f06e00463ea2a5afbf47316a2c96a6dd1983f6289e3a6e41f3228f85",
      "rawRecordSha256": "338bbaec882d092aea49bc1f1527fdff16d60d32aad195cdbba34fa789fdc293",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 220367
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Dana →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-RGFuYQ