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 [ 3 syll. dia-na, di-ana ] The girl name Diana is pronounced DayAENah KEY. Diana has its origins in the Indoeuropean language, and it is used largely in Catalan, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. Derived from the element deiwo with the meaning 'light, deity'. The name is of obscure origin. It was borne in Roman mythology by the chaste and beautiful goddess of the woods, hunting, and the moon, who was the equivalent of the Greek Artemis. Due to its pagan origins and a mention in the Bible that the worshippers of Diana of the Ephesians rioted against the apostle Paul, the name was in early times shunned by Christians. After the Reformation, English speakers nevertheless adopted the name. It might have been popularized in the 19th century by the George Meredith novel Diana of the Crossways (1885). In recent times, the name is famous from the Princess of Wales (1961-1997), but her widespread popularity did not appear to have boosted the adoption of the name. The name Diana is used to a great extent; it has 32 variants that are used in both English and foreign languages. English variants of the name include Dayanna, Deana, Deann, Deanna, Deanne, Diahann, Dian (also used in French), Dianada, Diane (also used in French and German), Dianne (also used in French and German), Diantha, Dinah (also used in Hebrew and German), Dyan, Dyane, Dyann, Dyanne, Kiana (also used in Hawaiian), Kianna (also used in Hawaiian), and Tiana (also used in German and Cherokee). Other English forms include the short forms Di and Dia, the pet forms Dee and Disel, and the spelling variants Dianna, Dyana, and Dyanna. Variants of Diana used in foreign languages include Dajana (German), Dayana (German), Diani (Portuguese), Diána (Hungarian), and Dijana (Slavic). The pet form Didi (Dutch and French) is another foreign variant. Diana is popular as a baby name for girls. The name's popularity grew from the 1900s up to the 1940s; before that, it was of only occasional use. At the modest peak of its usage in 1946, 0.467% of baby girls were named Diana. It ranked at #42 then. The baby name has since experienced a drop in popularity. In 2008, it ranked at #137 with a usage of 0.117%, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all girl names in its group. Diana was thrice as popular as the next most popular name, Dayana (German), in 2008. Baby names that sound like Diana include Dianna (English), Diána (Hungarian), Dyana (English), Dyanna (English), Damia (English), Dayana (German), Dayanna (English), Deana (English), Deanna (English), Deonna (English), Diani (Portuguese), Dimona (Hebrew), Diona (English), Dionna (English), Dominee (English), Domini (English), Donia (English), Duana (English), Duayna (English), and Dyani. Details of famous persons named Diana: KEY: Pronunciation for Diana: D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; AY as in "hide (HH.AY.D)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
