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Dawanna
How to Pronounce Dawanna
Pronounced duh-WAH-nuh /dəˈwɑː.nə/Medium
Meaning: Dawanna is a mid-century American coinage pairing the Da- prefix with a rolling -wanna ending in the family of Wanda and LaWanda. It was created for its rhythm and does not descend from a single older name.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Dawanna is an invented name joining a Da- opening to a rolling -wanna ending in the style of Wanda and LaWanda. Coinages built from a prefix and a familiar ending spread among African American families in the mid-century. Dawanna appears in United States records from around 1955 and reached a small high around 1983. It was never common, given to only a couple dozen girls a year.
A girl named Dawanna at that high would be in her forties now, a Gen-X-era coinage. It reads as a warm, rhythmic invention of its decade and has not revived, though the similar Dewanna and Tawanna kept company with it.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Dawanna mean?
It is a coined name joining the Da- prefix with a Wanda- and LaWanda-style ending; it was made for its sound.
How do you pronounce Dawanna?
It's said duh-WAH-nuh /dəˈwɑː.nə/, three syllables.
Is Dawanna a boy or girl name?
Dawanna is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Dawanna?
It has always been rare, a coined name given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak.