Roxanna as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Roxanna

What is the meaning of the name Roxanna ?

The baby name Roxanna is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced ROCK-SAN-uh; IPA: /rɒkˈsænə/ or /rɑkˈsænə/.

Roxanna is Persian in Origin.

Roxanna is an English variant of Roxana, tracing to Greek Rhōxánē, the rendering of Old Persian Roshanak (Avestan raoxšna-), meaning “bright,” “radiant,” or “dawn,” often interpreted as “little shining one.” Through Hellenistic transmission, the name entered Latin as Roxana and later diversified across European languages; the double-n spelling Roxanna stabilized in modern English as a phonetic counterpart to Roxanne.

Usage is anchored by the famed Bactrian princess Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great, which kept the name alive in classical and historical literature. It resurfaced in early modern Europe and gained English visibility via Daniel Defoe’s 1724 novel Roxana and, in the French form Roxane, through Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac; 20th-century culture (including the song “Roxanne”) sustained recognition. International variants include Roxana (Romance), Roxane (French), Roxanne (English), Roksana (Slavic), and the Persian Roshanak (also Rowshanak). Common diminutives are Roxy/Roxie and Ana/Annie.