What does persona mean?
A persona is the identity or image that a person presents to the world, particularly in professional, social, or public settings. It can refer to a carefully managed public image, such as the calm and authoritative figure a spokesperson projects, but it can also denote any recognizable social role or character. The word often suggests a contrast between outward presentation and private reality, although that contrast is not always present. Historically, persona referred to a mask worn by actors and, by extension, to the role or character an actor portrayed. The term is now especially common in discussions of public relations, politics, literature, and personal identity. It is useful because it focuses attention not merely on what someone is, but on the identity they perform or present to others.
The public image, character, or social role presented by an individual.
"The company was careful to preserve a professional persona during the crisis."
Commonly used when describing how an individual is perceived or how they deliberately manage their public identity.
A character or role assumed by an actor, writer, or other performer.
"The narrator takes on the persona of a shipwrecked sailor."
A more literary and specialized sense that is especially common in descriptions of theatre, fiction, and performance.
In historical or legal usage, the character or identity in which a person acts or is officially recognized.
"The court considered the issue in the persona of the corporate defendant."
This sense is uncommon in everyday modern English and is chiefly literary or legal.
The regular plural is personas. The form personae is also used in some scholarly and legal contexts.
"The performer moved between several personas throughout the series."
The word began as a theatrical mask: a persona was the face an actor wore, and the public face we project is its modern descendant.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does persona come from?
Persona comes from Latin persona, meaning “mask,” especially the mask worn by an actor in Roman drama. The word entered English in the late 16th century in theatrical and legal contexts before developing its modern sense of a public identity or character. It is related to person, personal, and personality, all of which reflect the same broader Latin root associated with the theatrical mask and the person represented by it.
Related word forms
How persona is actually used
The modern sense is common in English and may imply that the public image is deliberately constructed or maintained. The older senses involving a mask, theatrical identity, or legal role are more specialized.
Easily confused with persona
A person is an individual human being, whereas a persona is the role, image, or identity that an individual presents.
Personality refers to a person's characteristic traits and ways of behaving, while persona more often refers to a consciously presented public image.