Entry № 0608 · Greek origin

Danae Danae — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ DAH-nah-eh /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Greek
Meaning
"Mother of Perseus (impregnated by Zeus as golden rain)"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 0
First recorded
Ancient (Greek)

A name that means "mother of perseus (impregnated by zeus as golden rain)".

Danae (Δανάη) is from the Greek danos (parched, dry). **Daughter of King Acrisius of Argos, mother of the hero Perseus** — locked in a bronze tower by her father after an oracle warned her son would kill him. **Zeus impregnated her by descending in a shower of golden rain through the tower's roof** — among the most famous subjects in Renaissance and Baroque painting (Titian, Rembrandt, Klimt). **Cast into the sea in a wooden chest with her infant son, she eventually washed ashore on Seriphos.**

Featured in Apollodorus's *Library* and Pindar's *Pythian* odes.

Impregnated by Zeus as a shower of golden rain. Mother of Perseus.

The name in its native script.

Δανάη
Transliteration
Danáē
Pronunciation
/ ˈdeɪ.neɪ /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Danae stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 0 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 0 in 0
Babies named Danae · last year
87 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
0
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · — NOW · —

Danaes before her.

Real people
Danae
Common Greek given name.
In fiction
Danae
Subject of Klimt's Danaë.
1907

Names connected to Danae.

The number behind Danae.

2

The Diplomat

Danae reduces to two — the number of Perseus's mother.

Why families chose this name.

"Mother of Perseus. Five letters. Danae."
Eleni · Mother of one · Argos