Jordana

Feminine form of JORDAN.

JORDAN   male & female   English, Macedonian
From the name of the river which flows between the countries of Jordan and Israel. The river's name in Hebrew is יַרְדֵן (Yarden), and it is derived from יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down". In the New Testament John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in its waters, and it was adopted as a personal name in Europe after crusaders brought water back from the river to baptize their children. There may have been some influence from the Germanic name JORDANES, notably borne by a 6th-century Gothic historian.

This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).
JORDANES   male   Ancient Germanic
Germanic name, probably related to the Norse element jord meaning "land". This name was borne by a 6th-century Roman author of Gothic background, who wrote a history of the Goths. It is possible that the spelling of his name was influenced by that of the Jordan River.
EQUIVALENTS
BULGARIAN: Yordana, Yordanka
ENGLISH: Jordana, Jordyn
HEBREW: Yardena
MACEDONIAN: Jordana
PORTUGUESE: Jordana
SPANISH: Jordana
DIMINUTIVES AND SHORT FORMS
BULGARIAN: Dana
MASCULINE FORMS
ANCIENT GERMANIC: Jordanes
BULGARIAN: Iordan, Yordan
DUTCH: Joord, Jordaan
ENGLISH: Jordan, Jordon
FRENCH: Jourdain
HEBREW: Yarden
ITALIAN: Giordano
MACEDONIAN: Jordan
MEDIEVAL ENGLISH: Judd
PORTUGUESE: Jordão
SPANISH: Jordán
OTHER FORMS
ANCIENT GERMANIC: Jordanes
ENGLISH: Judd