How popular is the baby name Zana in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Zana.

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Popularity of the baby name Zana


Posts that mention the name Zana

Popular baby names in Liechtenstein, 2021

Flag of Liechtenstein
Flag of Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein, one of the smallest countries in Europe, is located in the Alps (sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland).

Last year, Liechtenstein welcomed 375 babies — 181 girls and 194 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emilia/Frida/Mia (3-way tie) and Elias.

Here are Liechtenstein’s top girl names and top boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Emilia, Frida/Frieda, and Mia, 4 baby girls each (3-way tie)
  2. Emma, Melina, and Sophia/Sofia, 3 each (3-way tie)
  3. Alicia, Alina, Anna, Aria, Ariana/Arianna, Aurora, Chiara, Elea, Elin, Emily, Hannah, Helena, Jana, Ladina, Leonie, Lina, Mara, Maria, Milena, Mina, and Noelia, 2 each (21-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Elias/Elyas, 7 baby boys
  2. Louis/Luis, 6
  3. Leo, 5
  4. Noah and Paul, 4 each (tie)
  5. Leano, Luca, Mattia, Nelio, Raphael/Rafael, and Valentin, 3 each (6-way tie)
  6. Benedict/Benedikt, Benjamin, Eliah/Elijah, Eric/Erik, Gion, James, Janik, Julian, Lenny, Levin, Lionel, Lucas/Lukas, Mael, Matteo, Maximilian, Nicklas/Niklas, Oliver, and Ömer, 2 each (18-way tie)

The rest of the names were bestowed just once:

Unique girl names (118)Unique boy names (114)
Ada, Adora, Aflah, Aida, Aileen, Akila, Alessia, Alexandra, Alia, Alizée, Alma, Amalia, Ambra, Amela, Amélie, Amina, Amra, Ana, Aniko, Anila, Anina, Annika, Antonia, Asalia, Ava, Aynara, Calissa, Carla, Carmen, Catalina, Cecilia, Céline, Charlotte, Clea, Darja, Désirée, Diana, Diona, Dorothea, Dua-Lea, Ela, Elena, Elenia, Eleonora, Elif, Elina, Eline, Elise, Ena, Evi, Finja, Gabriella, Gea, Grace, Hailey, Haley, Hava, Heidi, Hindiya, Hylkije, Ina, Jara, Johanna, Josepa, Josephine, Julia, Juliana, Juna, Künkyi, Lailah, Lanah, Lara, Lea, Leila, Lelle, Lena, Leni, Lia, Liara, Lillia, Lily, Lorena, Lounah, Luisa, Malea, Marie, Maya, Mayte, Medina, Mejra, Melissa, Meryem, Mila, Mirella, Mona, Nadine, Naima, Nayla, Nevia, Niva, Nóra, Nurcan, Patrizia, Romina, Ronja, Rosa, Ruby, Sarah, Saskia, Serena, Siena, Svea, Theresia, Yara, Ylvie, Zana, Zeyneb, ZoeAaron, Adrian, Ajan, Akira, Alessio, Alexis, Ali, Alparslan, Alvaro, Ammar, Anton, Arion, Arjen, Aron, Arthur, Aurel, Aurelio, Ayman, Azad, Benno, Björn, Byron, Conradin, Dario, Dayan, Din, Eddie, Ediz, Elliot, Elvis, Emanuel, Emiel, Emil, Emilian, Erlis, Felix, Finn, Florian, Francesco, Gabriel, Gael, Grégory, Gustav, Henrik, Henry, Jakob, Jan, Jari, Jemin, Jonas, Joris, Julius, Juri, Justin, Karl, Kenan, Kian, Korab, Kunga, Laurin, Leandro, Leon, Levi, Liam, Lian, Liano, Linard, Lino, Lio, Louie, Luar, Mailo, Maleo, Malik, Marcelo, Matin, Matti, Mauro, Max, Metehan, Mikkel, Milo, Miro, Musab, Nathan, Neo, Nevio, Nils, Noam, Noar, Noel, Norden, Quentin, Richard, Rocco, Romeo, Rron, Samuel, Sandro, Santiago, Sava, Tenzin, Theo, Tiago, Tim, Timéo, Timo, Tobia, Vinzenz, Vitus, Xaver, Yakari, Yannick, Yannis

Some thoughts on a few of the above…

  • Künkyi and Tenzin are Tibetan.
  • Nevia and Nevio are Italian. They derive from the Roman family name Naevius, which was based on the Latin word naevus, meaning “birthmark” or “mole (on the body).”
  • Rron is an Albanian. It was created from the word rronj, a dialectal form of rroj, which means “to live, to survive.”

Finally, here’s a link to Liechtenstein’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Neugeborenennamen 2021 – Statistikportal Liechtenstein

Image: Adapted from Flag of Liechtenstein (public domain)

Where did the baby name Zhane come from in 1993?

The Zhané album "Pronounced Jah-Nay" (1994)
Zhané album

The name Zhane first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1993. It saw peak usage the very next year:

  • 1995: 203 baby girls named Zhane [rank: 934th]
  • 1994: 391 baby girls named Zhane [rank: 584th]
  • 1993: 69 baby girls named Zhane [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: unlisted

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Zhane in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Zhane

The sudden trendiness of Zhane gave boosts to similar names (like Zana) and produced a crop of sound-alike names, such as…

1992199319941995
Jhane.12*6337
Zhana.8*4826
Zhanae..14*8
Jhanae..10*10
Zhanee..10*.
Jhanee..5*5
Zhanea..5*.
*Debut

It also inspired parents to create Zhane-based names, including Dazhane, Dezhane, Azhane, Daizhane, Tazhane, Auzhane, Dayzhane, Razhane, Ajhane, Dezhanae, Dejhanae, Zhania, and Zhanaya.

So, what was influencing all of these names?

R&B duo Zhané (pronounced zhah-NAY), made up of vocalists Jean Norris and Renée Neufville.

Zhané’s biggest hit, the catchy “Hey, Mr. D.J.,” was released in August of 1993 and reached #6 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Their next-biggest hit, “Groove Thang,” came out early the following year.

Both songs were included on the duo’s 1994 debut album, the cleverly titled Pronounced Jah-Nay.

So how did the two singers — who met while attending Temple University in Philadelphia in the early 1990s — come up with the name “Zhane”? Here’s what Norris told Soul Train about a decade ago:

For our name, Renée had the idea of using the French pronunciation of our names Jean and Renée, which sounded like “Jahnay”. We added a Z for a little flavor and we came up with Zhané.

What are your thoughts on the name Zhane?

Sources:

P.S. The duo’s success may have had an influence on the similar-sounding name Dijonnaise as well…

How did “What’s My Line?” influence baby names?

Title of the TV game show "What's My Line?"

What’s My Line? (1950-1967) was one of the longest-running game shows on television — not to mention one of the earliest.

The word “line” in the title didn’t refer to a line of script, but to a line of work. Essentially, the show consisted of four celebrity panelists trying to guess a contestant’s occupation — typically something unexpected, e.g., “lipstick demonstrator,” “makes kilts,” “vaccinates chickens.”

Given the popularity of the show, and the fact that contestants’ names were emphasized (each one signed in on a chalkboard at the start of his/her segment), it’s not surprising that some of the more unusual contestant names ended up influencing U.S. baby names. For example…

Rondi
Contestant Rondi Stratton, whose job was demonstrating mattresses in store windows, was on the show in October of 1952. The baby name Rondi saw increased usage in 1952-1953.

Barbi
Contestant Barbi Nierenberg, who was a maternity dress buyer, was on the show in November of 1952. The baby name Barbi debuted in the data in 1953. (Barbie dolls weren’t launched until 1959.)

Wynelle
Contestant Wynelle Davis, who was a fireworks seller, was on the show in June of 1953. The baby name Wynelle saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Contestant Sunee Parker (men's barber) from the TV game show "What's My Line?" (1950-1967).
Sunee Parker, men’s barber

Sunee
Contestant Sunee Parker, who was a men’s barber, was on the show in October of 1953. The baby name Sunee debuted in the data the same year.

television, 1950s, game show, whats my line
Rozana Ruehrmund, bill collector

Rozana
Contestant Rozana Ruehrmund, who was a bill collector, was on the show in August of 1954. The baby name Rozana debuted in the data the same year.

Zana
Contestant Zana Stanley, who handled bad checks at a District Attorney’s office, was on the show in November of 1954. The baby name Zana saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Lili
Contestant Lili Lisande Wieland, who was a Christmas shopper at Saks Fifth Avenue, was on the show in December of 1954. The baby name Lili saw increased usage the same year.

Thor
Contestant Thor Thors, who was the Icelandic ambassador to the United States, was on the show in November of 1955. The baby name Thor saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Evonne
Contestant Evonne Gaines, who owned a dog grooming salon, was on the show in March of 1957. The baby name Evonne saw increased usage the same year.

Bunny
Contestant Bunny Yeager, who was a “cheesecake photographer,” was on the show in July of 1957. The baby name Bunny saw increased usage the same year. (Bunny, born Linnea Eleanor Yeager, was a former pin-up model herself.)

Darris
Contestant Darris Miller (f), who made one-piece pajamas for dogs, was on the show in August of 1959. The baby name Darris saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Perian
Contestant Perian Conerly, who wrote a football column for newspapers, was on the show in December of 1959. The baby name Perian debuted in the data the next year. (Her growing visibility as a columnist may have been an influence here as well.)

Sherrylyn
Contestant Sherrylyn Patecell, who was a Rockette — not to mention the recently elected Miss New York City — was on the show in July of 1960. The baby name Sherrylyn debuted in the data the same year. (Her pageant win may be a confounding factor here.)

LaVelda
Contestant LaVelda Rowe and her identical twin sister LaVona Rowe, both news photographers, were on the show in July of 1960. The baby name LaVelda was a one-hit wonder in the data the same year.

television, 1950s, game show, whats my line
Sita Arora, English teacher

Sita
Contestant Sita Arora, who was a high school English teacher originally from Bombay, was on the show in September of 1960. The baby name Sita debuted in the data the same year.

Dorinda
Contestant Dorinda Nicholson, who taught hula dancing, was on the show in August of 1962. The baby name Dorinda saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Candi
Contestant Candi Brasovan, who was a salami seller, was on the show in January of 1963. The baby name Candi saw increased usage the same year.

Sheva
Contestant Sheva Rapoport, who was a dentist, was on the show in February of 1966. The baby name Sheva debuted in the data the same year.

…And here are some other interesting What’s My Line? contestant names. These didn’t influence the data, but they caught my eye nonetheless.

  • 1952: Regife
  • 1953: Rosebud
  • 1954: An’a, Gudny, Jun, Tala
  • 1955: Edle (pron. “ed-lee”), Kirpal, Relly, Sheréé, Sylvette, Vari, Zarine
  • 1956: Heloisa, Martica, Trema
  • 1957: Benna, Felisa, Gundega, Jolie, Mirella, Reimar, Vondon
  • 1958: Kinlock, Rildia*
  • 1959: Jorunn, Mirja, Rood, Roswitha
  • 1960: Gedney, Jo-ag-quis-ho (Onondaga for “the sun making tracks in the snow”)
  • 1961: Alfena
  • 1962: Alansa
  • 1963: Inter, Meeg
  • 1964: Sura
  • 1965: Brackett, Sua
  • 1966: Rosmare

*Piano teacher Rildia Cliburn was the mother of pianist Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn. Her own mother was named Sirrildia.

Other game shows that influenced American baby names include Card Sharks, Jeopardy!, and American Gladiators.

Sources: What’s My Line? – TV.com, What’s My Line? – Wikipedia

What gave the baby name Zana a boost in 1994?

The character Zana Beckley from the TV series "The Sinbad Show" (1993-1994)
Zana Beckley from “The Sinbad Show“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Zana saw peak usage in 1994:

  • 1996: 51 baby girls named Zana
  • 1995: 76 baby girls named Zana
  • 1994: 252 baby girls named Zana [rank: 804th]
  • 1993: 37 baby girls named Zana
  • 1992: 12 baby girls named Zana

The same year, the spellings Zayna and Zaina saw similar (though smaller) spikes, and the spellings Zaena, Zeyna, and Zanah appeared for the very first time in the data.

What was drawing attention to these names around that time?

A cute character named Zana (pronounced ZAY-nah) from the single-season sitcom The Sinbad Show (1993-1994).

Six-year-old Zana Beckley (played by actress Erin Davis) and her older brother were the adopted children of the show’s main character, a single man named David Bryan (played by comedian David “Sinbad” Adkins).

What are your thoughts on the name Zana?

Sources: The Sinbad Show – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of The Sinbad Show

[Latest update: Jun. 2024]