![]() Dolores del Rio as Luana in Bird of Paradise. | |
Gender | Female |
---|---|
Origin | |
Meaning | lion in Albanian, combination of Louise or Lucy and Anna or "happiness" in Hawaiian or Spanish "luan" meaning brown tinted with yellow. |
Other names | |
See also | Anna, Louise, Lua, Luan, Luanus, Lucy. |
Luana is a feminine name of undetermined, multiple origins. It was among the top 10 most popular names for baby girls born in Peru in 2020. [1] It is in use in other countries as well. It ranked among the top 50 names used for girls born in Portugal in recent years [2] and was among the top 200 names used for girls born in Italy between 1999 and 2006. [3] It has ranked among the top 500 names given to girls born in France in recent years. [4] There were 95 girls born in the United States in 2020, 110 girls in 2021, 105 girls in 2022, and 112 girls in 2023 who were given the name. [5] It has also been well used in Switzerland, ranking among the top 30 names for girls in 2020. [6] It also ranked among the top 100 names for girls born in Germany in 2018 and among the top 1,000 names for girls born in the United Kingdom in 2019. [7]
Usage of the name might have been inspired by characters in theatrical productions and films. It was the name of the Polynesian heroine in the 1932 film Bird of Paradise , which was based on a 1912 play. [8] Luana is also a character in the 1982 Italian film Daughter of the Jungle .
Some sources say the name means "happiness" or having a good time in Hawaiian. [9] It might also be a feminine version of the Albanian name Luàn, meaning "lion". [10] It might also be used as a combination of the names Louise or Lucy and Anna. [11] It might be derived from the Spanish word "luan", meaning a shade between yellow and brown, or as a feminine form of the name Luanus. [12]