In ancient Rome, there was a term for a mask an actor wore on the stage. It was known in Latin as the persona or prosopon. In Greek, it was πρόσωπον. The masks, as a group, were known as the peronae of the stage lay. This is why a cast is still sometimes listed as the dramatis personae or the personae dramatis. It is literally the list of characters of the play with the people who play them.
Theological debates in the 4th and 5th century furthered this use of the word person. They took the word prosopon from the Greek theatre in order to define God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as three different persons within the Godhead. Since then, many changes have been made concerning the word person. There have been many different trials to change the meaning of the word and most likely, there will always be people who try to change the meaning. After all, language is always evolving.
Even the dictionary etymology supports person coming from the theatre. The word person is thought to have come from the Middle English word persone which came from the Latin word persōna meaning a role in life, a role in a play. This latter usage came from the original usage meaning an actor's mask which came from the Etruscan word phersu which is thought to have come from the Greek word prósōpa meaning face or mask and having the -na suffix attached.
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