Given name & surname · also German
Lana
Lana is used as a given name and a surname. Lana is connected with Alana.
Original GreekΛάνα
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with German and Greek naming traditions. The precise derivation is uncertain.
How it developed
Lana is used as a form of Alana.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Lana is a form of Helen. The history of Helen gives this family its wider story. Helen’s historical associations include the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lana through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 57,449
- 15 boys · 57,434 girls
- Most popular year
- 1948
- 1,470 babies
- 2025
- 768
- #406 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 768 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 406 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 6.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,465 in 1948. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (134). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 48,612 as a first name in 2020; 922 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lana’s family of names
In English usage, Lana is a short form of Alana. Lana is a form of Helen. Lana is a form of Alana.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Alanafull form · English
- Lanaevariant
- Lannavariant
- Svetlanafull form
- Llanalikely variant
- Lanicevariant
- Lannyvariant
- Lanettevariant
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Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Anaequivalent
- Lenaequivalent
- Lianaequivalent
- Helenbase name
- Laniequivalent
- Elanaequivalent
- Ilanaequivalent
- Ellinaequivalent
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See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lana
- Lana TurnerAmerican actress (1921–1995)
- Lana CondorVietnamese-American actressborn 1997
- Lana ParrillaAmerican actressborn 1977
- Lana WoodAmerican actressborn 1946
- Lana Clarksonactress and fashion model from the United States (1962–2003)
- MC LyteAmerican rapperborn 1970
- Lana BastašićBosnian writerborn 1986
- La LanaCroatian singerborn 1984
- Lana GogoberidzeGeorgian film director and politician (born 1928)
Characters named Lana: Lana Lang (fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series), Lana Lang (the television series Smallville).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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