Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Diana

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DIANA

GENDER: Feminine

USAGE: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Dutch, Romanian, Russian, Lithuanian, Roman Mythology

OTHER SCRIPTS: Диана (Russian)

PRONOUNCED: die-AN-ə (English), dee-AH-nah (Italian, German, Dutch) [key]

Meaning & History

Probably derived from an old Indo-European root meaning "heavenly, divine", related to dyeus (see ZEUS). Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests, and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

As a given name, Diana has been regularly used since the Renaissance. It became more common in the English-speaking world following Sir Walter Scott's novel 'Rob Roy' (1817), which featured a character named Diana Vernon. It also appeared in George Meredith's novel 'Diana of the Crossways' (1885). A notable bearer was Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.

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VARIANTS: Diane, Deana, Deanna, Deanne, Deeann, Deena, Dena, Dianna (English)

DIMINUTIVE: Di (English)

OTHER LANGUAGES: Dijana, Dajana (Croatian), Diane, Dianne (French), Kiana (Hawaiian), Diána (Hungarian), Dijana (Macedonian), Dijana (Serbian), Dijana (Slovene)

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