Lana

About Lana

Lana is a two-syllable name with more than one route into use. In English it can shorten Alana; in Russian and other Slavic settings it connects with Svetlana and the idea of light. Pronounced LAH-nuh in English, it also has a strong entertainment history through Lana Turner and Lana Del Rey.

Two name families

English Alana is a feminine form of Alan, whose deeper meaning is uncertain. Lana taken from Alana therefore does not have one securely established ancient translation.

The Svetlana connection is different. Svetlana comes from Russian svet, meaning “light” or “world,” and was popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky’s poem Svetlana in 1813. Lana is an established short form of that name, alongside Sveta.

Lana’s first-syllable stress makes it sound different from the longer Svetlana, which is stressed on its middle syllable in Russian. In English, its two open syllables give the full name a simple rhythm without requiring a further shortening.

Lana Turner

Actor Lana Turner helped establish the name in the English-speaking world. Born Julia Jean Turner, she developed her screen name with director Mervyn LeRoy early in her career.

Her 1946 film The Postman Always Rings Twice became a defining role. Turner plays Cora, the dissatisfied wife of a roadside-diner owner, opposite John Garfield as the drifter with whom she becomes involved. Their relationship turns into a murder plot, placing the film within the dark world of crime and desire associated with film noir.

The connection is especially relevant to the name’s American history: Lana’s largest female birth count and best rank came in 1948, during Turner’s prominent screen career. The overlap marks the period of greatest use without explaining every individual family’s choice.

Lana Del Rey’s writing

Singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey gives the name a more recent artistic association. Her first poetry book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, includes more than thirty poems, with typewritten pages and her own photography in the hardcover edition.

The accompanying spoken-word recording has Del Rey reading fourteen selections with music by Jack Antonoff. It extends her work from songs into poetry and recorded reading, giving Lana a literary connection as well as a musical one.

American popularity

In 1948, 1,465 American girls were named Lana, ranking 188th. The name remained familiar in 1950, with 1,314 births, before declining to 209 in 2000.

Its use later increased again: there were 628 girls named Lana in 2010 and 768 in 2025, when it ranked 406th. The recent figures show a continuing presence well beyond its mid-century high point.

How popular is Lana?

In 2025, Lana ranked #406 among girls in the United States, with 768 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1885; its largest annual count was 1,465 in 1948. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.