Deana
This form is an altered form of the surname Anna.
Origin and meaning
E. De Felice notes that the surname has as its base the feminine name Anna, which continues the Hebrew Ḥannā, from ḥānan ("to have mercy"), meaning "(God) has granted grace". He recalls that in the Old Testament Anna is the name of the mother of Samuel and of the wife of Tobias, and that the Christian tradition also attributed it to the mother of the Virgin Mary (26 July).
De Felice specifies that it is used mainly as a matronymic. He indicates that it is very frequent in the south, especially in the Naples area —where the compound Annarumma is peculiar— and in Sicily.
A. Bongioanni adds that the name coincides by chance with the Roman Anna Perenna, the goddess of the year, though without etymological relation.
Variants
Altered forms and derivatives
Compounds
Geographic distribution: South (especially Naples and Sicily); Piedmont and Friuli for derived forms
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
Sources
This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:
- Bongioanni, A. (1940). Nomi e Cognomi. Saggio di ricerche etimologiche e storiche. Milano: Fratelli Bocca.
- De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.