Twanna

Meaning of Twanna

Twanna is a feminine given name of modern American origin, most plausibly formed by the fusion of the diminutive “Twan” (itself derived from Antoine) with the feminine suffix “-na,” a pattern characteristic of late 20th-century Anglo-American naming innovation. Pronounced twah-NAH (/twɑˈnə/), it first emerges in Florida birth records in the mid-1960s and attains its highest regional frequency between 1964 and 1980—registering between five and ten annual occurrences and fluctuating in rank from 177 in 1965 to a peak of ten births at rank 159 in 1977, before settling back to five occurrences and rank 166 by 1980. Although overall usage remains rare, Twanna’s measured syllabic structure and consistent phonological profile underscore its technical construction, while its sustained, if modest, presence in Southeastern United States registrations reflects associations of cultural specificity, regional identity, and the deliberate phonetic symmetry prized by American parents during that era.