I'm from Portugal and it's one of my family names, Maria Runa! I know we had a lot of celtic influence in the northern part of the country so i wonder if it came from that :)
I really love this name. I'm currently pregnant and thinking I'm going to name my daughter this if I am having a girl. It's very unique which is hugely important to me. It means "Secret lore" in Scandinavian and "mighty strength" in Japanese. Plus there is just so many super cute nick names, Rue, Rune, Runie.
My name is Runa and I personally think it’s a really cool name (obviously) I live in Norway where it’s more usual than other countries, but still not very popular. I’ve only ever met one other person with the name. I’m pretty sure it means secret, cause that’s what I’ve heard all through my life, but I recently discovered that it also could mean strength or something, though I don’t really know how reliable that source was.
Runa Akasaka is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in adult videos (AV). Akasaka's career in AV lasted about four years, with 70 to 100 videos listed for her at two major retailers at the end of 2008. Asasaka has also starred in titles in the pink film and V-Cinema genres.
My best friends name is Runa! When she was born her mother came across this name in a baby-book and fell in love with it. But Runa isn't a recognised name in Germany so her mother called her Deborah Runa. Everyone knows her as Runa. She is a very strong and beautiful person.
There's a really eerie children's book called Runa about a Swedish girl who is apparently destined to die because of her place in her family. (Thankfully, she eventually overcomes this fate and lives to see her next birthday!) However, the book really isn't very well known, and the name is quite lovely if you think about it, so I have decided that I like it!