Date
Gender Feminine
Usage English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Armenian, Georgian, Roman Mythology
Pronounced Pron. /daɪ.ˈæn.ə/(English) /ˈdja.na/(Spanish, Italian, Polish) /di.ˈɐ.nɐ/(European Portuguese) /d͡ʒi.ˈɐ̃.nɐ/(Brazilian Portuguese) /di.ˈa.nə/(Catalan) /di.ˈaː.na/(German, Latin) /di.ˈaː.naː/(Dutch) /dʲi.ˈa.nɐ/(Ukrainian) /ˈdɪ.ja.na/(Czech) /ˈdi.a.na/(Slovak)
Meaning & History
Means "divine, goddesslike", a derivative of Latin dia or diva meaning "goddess". It is ultimately related to the same Indo-European root *dyew- found in 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 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 the British royal Diana Spencer (1961-1997), the Princess of Wales.