# Rana (name)

Rana is a given name and surname of multiple origins.
Rana is also a historical title that is now used as an Indian surname. It is of Sanskrit origin, meaning "king", and is the masculine derivative of the Sanskrit word rānī meaning "queen". It was used as a title by the Rajput kings. It is a surname of Rajputs in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Some other variants of the name include Rani and Ranee as well as the surname Rane, which is more common in Goa and Maharashtra.
In Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish; the name means "eye-catching, glittering, mesmerising" and "elegant, graceful", stemming from the word yarnū (Arabic: يرنو), meaning "to gaze at longingly". It is a given name for females in Middle Eastern countries.
It is a surname found in Nepal, used by the Magar people and also by the Chhetri group.
In Galician, it is a derivative of the surname Raña that may refer to someone from a place with the same name in A Coruña, Spain.
In Nordic countries, the Sámi name means "green earth" or "fertile fields" after the mythological goddess Rana Niejta.
In Old Norse, the given name may mean "nobility" or "queenly".
In Hebrew, the name may have the meaning "pure", "clean".
In New Zealand, it is a given name for males of Māori origin. Less commonly, it is also a given name for females of English origin meaning "raven"
In the Hausa language of Nigeria, it means “sun”.
In Italian and Spanish, the nickname means "frog", possibly stemming from Holarctic true frogs of the genus Rana.
In Japanese, the given name for females has multiple meanings depending on the choice of Kanji characters used, including "beautiful", "princess", "serenity", and "harmony".

## People with the name
### Given name

* Rana Abdelhamid (born 1993), Egyptian-American entrepreneur and self-defense activist
* Rana X. Adhikari (born 1974), American experimental physicist
* Rana Afzaal Hussain (1947–2024), Pakistani politician
* Rana Afzal Khan (1949–2019), Pakistani politician, finance minister and army officer
* Rana Ahmad Hamd (born 1985), Saudi-born women's rights activist
* Rana Azadivar (born 1983), Iranian actress
* Rana Bhagwandas (1942-2015), Pakistani jurist and former acting chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
* Rana Bokhari (born 1977), Canadian politician
* Rana Daggubati (born 1984), Indian actor, producer, TV personality, visual effects co-ordinator and photographer
* Rana Dajani, Jordanian molecular biologist
* Rana Dasgupta (born 1971), British-Indian novelist and essayist
* Rana Farhan, Iranian-American musician and singer of jazz and blues
* Rana Foroohar (born 1970), American journalist, economic analyst and author
* Rana Hanımsultan (1926–2008), Ottoman princess
* Rana Hussein (born 1969), daughter of Saddam Hussein
* Rana Javadi (born 1953), Iranian photographer
* Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan (born 1966), Pakistani politician, lawyer and former deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly (Pakistan)
* Rana Mohammad Hanif Khan (c. 1922–2005), Pakistani politician and former finance minister
* Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan (born 1945), Pakistani politician and former speaker of the Punjab Assembly (Pakistan)
* Rana Mitter (born 1969), British historian, political scientist and Oxford University professor
* Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (born 1978), Pakistani cricketer
* Rana Nazeer Ahmed Khan (born 1949), Pakistani politician and lawyer
* Rana Pratap Singh (1540-1597), 16th-century Rajput king of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan (India)
* Rana Samara (born 1985), Palestinian painter
* Rana Sanaullah Khan (born 1950), Pakistani politician
* Rana KP Singh (born 1957), Indian politician and speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly (India)
* Rana Tanveer Hussain (born 1949), Pakistani politician and minister
* Rana Donald Waitai (1942–2021), New Zealand politician and lawyer

### Surname

* Sarbajit Rana Magar (1750-1778), Nepalese Army Chief and prominent politician, 18th century.
* Jayant Rana Magars (died 1744) (Kaji of Gorkha and Kantipur) who commanded one battle for Gorkha and two battles for Kantipur against the invasion of Nuwakot
* Karanbahadur Rana Magar VC (1898-1973), Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Ashutosh Rana (born 1964), Indian actor, producer author and TV personality
* Ambureen Rana, American politician
* Azmat Rana (1951-2015), Pakistani cricketer
* Kaji Abhiman Singh Rana Magar (died 1846), Nepalese army general and minister
* Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1888-1960), Nepalese defence minister and member of the Rana dynasty
* Bakhtiar Rana (1910-1999), Pakistani army lieutenant general
* Bal Krishna Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1903-1981), Nepalese playwright
* Balwinder Rana (born 1947), British activist
* Beatrice Rana (born 1993), Italian pianist
* Bhim Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1865-1932), 14th Nepalese prime minister
* Bhim Singh Rana (c. 1707–1756), ruler of the princely state of Gohad (in present-day India)
* Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1852-1901), 11th Nepalese prime minister
* Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1863–1929), 13th Nepalese prime minister
* Deepraj Rana, Indian actor
* Dev Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1862-1914), 12th Nepalese prime minister
* Devyani Rana (born 1973); Nepalese princess
* Diamond Shumsher Rana (1918-2011), Nepalese storywriter and political activist
* Diljit Singh Rana, Baron Rana (born 1938), British politician and life peer of the House of Lords
* Gaurav Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (born 1955), Nepalese former chief of army staff and member of the Rana dynasty
* Gyanu Rana (born 1949), Nepalese singer and reality show judge
* Jaspal Rana (born 1976), Indian sport pistol shooter
* Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1875-1952), 15th Nepalese prime minister
* Jung Bahadur Rana (1816–1877), 8th Nepalese prime minister and founder of the Rana dynasty
* Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1892-1964), Nepalese army field marshal
* Kashiram Rana (1938–2012), Indian politician
* Kiran Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1916-1983), Nepalese army officer
* Kuber Singh Rana (born 1960), former inspector general of Nepal Police
* Luigi Rana (born 1986), Italian footballer
* Manjural Islam Rana (1984–2007), Bangladeshi cricketer
* Masood Rana (1938–1995), Pakistani playback singer
* Moammar Rana (born 1974), Pakistani actor and film director
* Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1885–1967), 17th Nepalese prime minister and foreign minister
* Munawwar Rana (1952–2024), Indian poet
* Nara Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1911-2006), former chief of Nepal Police
* Naseem Rana (born 1942), Pakistani army lieutenant-general and former director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence
* Natasha Rana, American founder and CEO of Symple Health
* Om Bikram Rana, former inspector general of Nepal Police
* Padma Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1882-1961), 16th Nepalese prime minister
* Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (born 1941), Nepalese politician, former minister and member of the Rana dynasty
* Pradip Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, former inspector general of Nepal Police
* Ratna Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, former inspector general of Nepal Police
* Sardarsinhji Ravaji Rana (1870–1957), Indian political activist
* Santosh Rana (1942-2019), Indian politician
* Santosh Rana (CPI) (born 1948), Indian communist politician
* Shafqat Rana (born 1943), former Pakistani cricketer
* Shakoor Rana (1936-2001), Pakistani cricketer and umpire
* Sohail Rana (born 1938), Pakistani music composer for films and television
* Sohel Rana (born 1947), Bangladeshi actor, director and producer
* Sohel Rana (born 1977), Bangladeshi businessman
* Sohel Rana (footballer, born 1995) (born 1995), Bangladeshi footballer
* Sohel Rana (born 1996), Bangladeshi cricketer
* Subarna Shamsher Rana (1910-1977), 21st Nepalese prime minister
* Tahawwur Hussain Rana (born 1961), Pakistani-Canadian businessman and former physician
* Toran Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1904-??), Nepalese army commander-in-chief and former inspector general of Nepal Police
* Udaya Shumsher Rana (born 1970), Nepalese politician, former minister and member of the Rana dynasty
* Shammi Rana (born 1978), Indian sports executive and administrator

### Fictional characters

* Masud Rana, a character from the 472-book novel series by Qazi Anwar Hussain and its adaptations
* Mida Rana, a character from Yandere Simulator

## Other

* Jadi Rana, a person in the 1599 Zoroastrian epic poem Qissa-i Sanjan
* Rana Jashraj, a Hindu deity
* Rana Niejta, a goddess in Sámi mythology