# Anna (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/anna/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “hannah”, “grace”, “gracious”, “graced with child” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈænə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Annika |
| US babies named this | 917,615 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,756 / 914,859 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 28,146, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Late Latin Anna both directly and via numerous other languages, chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anne the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As a city in Illinois, named for Anna Davie, wife of one of the initial settlers. Doublet of Ann, Anne, Ana, and Hannah.

## What it means

Anna is grouped under grace.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,675 | 38 |
| 2012 | 5,630 | 34 |
| 2013 | 5,398 | 35 |
| 2014 | 5,706 | 34 |
| 2015 | 5,150 | 44 |
| 2016 | 4,810 | 49 |
| 2017 | 4,574 | 53 |
| 2018 | 4,198 | 54 |
| 2019 | 3,849 | 63 |
| 2020 | 3,511 | 68 |
| 2021 | 3,082 | 85 |
| 2022 | 2,962 | 83 |
| 2023 | 2,934 | 79 |
| 2024 | 2,716 | 94 |
| 2025 | 2,521 | 107 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 19 | 4,477 |
| 2006 | 5 | 12,156 |
| 2007 | 11 | 7,126 |
| 2008 | 11 | 7,220 |
| 2009 | 10 | 7,722 |
| 2010 | 10 | 7,621 |
| 2011 | 7 | 9,670 |
| 2012 | 5 | 12,389 |
| 2013 | 7 | 9,714 |
| 2015 | 7 | 9,636 |
| 2016 | 6 | 10,841 |
| 2017 | 8 | 8,897 |
| 2018 | 5 | 12,291 |
| 2020 | 5 | 12,156 |
| 2021 | 6 | 10,892 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 827 | 67 |
| 2012 | 902 | 68 |
| 2013 | 812 | 69 |
| 2014 | 804 | 70 |
| 2015 | 825 | 70 |
| 2016 | 779 | 73 |
| 2017 | 730 | 75 |
| 2018 | 628 | 85 |
| 2019 | 642 | 82 |
| 2020 | 574 | 89 |
| 2021 | 545 | 97 |
| 2022 | 450 | 114 |
| 2023 | 393 | 126 |
| 2024 | 388 | 125 |
| 2025 | 347 | 142 |

## People named Anna

- Anna I of Russia, fourth Emperor of Russia from 1730 to 1740 (1693-1740)
- Anna Kendrick, American actress (born 1985)
- Anna Faris, American actress
- Anna Nicole Smith, American actress and television personality (1967–2007)
- Anna Komnene, Byzantine princess and historian
- Anna Freud, austrian-British psychoanalyst (1895–1982)
- Anna Wintour, English magazine editor
- Anna Karina, Danish-French actress (1940–2019)
- Anna Torv, Australian actress (born 1979)
- Anna Popplewell, English actress
- Anna Sewell, English novelist
- Anna Gavalda, French author

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.