Danica is a Slavic name meaning "morning star", the traditional name for the planet Venus in Serbian, Croatian and Slovene. In the United States it became familiar through actress Danica McKellar and race car driver Danica Patrick. The name entered the US top 1000 in 2005, peaked at number 307 in 2007 and has eased off since; in 2025 it ranks number 1634 with 127 girls.