| Danica | Ivana | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Morning star | God is gracious |
| Origin | slavic | Slavic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | DAH-nee-kah | ee-VAH-nah |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1916 | 1943 |
| Peak year | 2007 (1,109) | 2010 (266) |
| In 2025 | 127 | 217 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Danica | Ivana |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,019 | 1,326 |
| 2010s | 4,591 | 2,020 |
| 2000s | 5,244 | 1,852 |
| 1990s | 2,382 | 1,934 |
| 1980s | 1,893 | 442 |
| 1970s | 1,051 | 300 |
| 1960s | 290 | 101 |
| 1950s | 42 | 47 |
| 1940s | 0 | 20 |
| 1910s | 10 | 0 |
A South Slavic name meaning 'morning star', the personification of the planet Venus at dawn in Slavic folklore. The root is debated between a word for 'day/dawn' and related forms, but the 'morning star' sense is consistent across sources.
Ivana is the Slavic feminine of John, “God is gracious.”
Ivana is more popular than Danica today: about 217 US babies were given the name Ivana in 2025, compared with 127 named Danica.
Danica means Morning star (slavic origin), while Ivana means God is gracious (Slavic origin).
In US records, Danica first appears in 1916 and Ivana in 1943, so Danica has the longer recorded history.