| Luana | |
| Gender: | Female |
| Meaning: | lion in Albanian, combination of Louise or Lucy and Anna or “happiness” in Hawaiian or Spanish “luan” meaning brown tinted with yellow. |
| 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 and 105 girls in 2022 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]