The first name Anne
A girl’s name from French meaning “ann”, “hannah”, “grace”.
Pronounced /æn/ 1 syllable Female
Meaning and origin
French origin
Anne means “ann”, “hannah”, “grace” in French.
From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). Occasionally reborrowed from languages who adopted the name from English. Very infrequently from Estonian abbreviation of Anna instead. Doublet of Ann, Ana, Anna, and Hannah. Compare John.
More names that mean grace.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 30 girls were named Anne, making it the 1,110th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 1996, with 72 births (#432).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Anne with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Anne at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 472 girls born in the United States were named Anne, the 619th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1959, when 5,745 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Famous people named Anne
515 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Anne FrankGerman-born Dutch Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim (1929–1945)
- Anne HathawayAmerican actress (born 1982)
- Julianne MooreBritish-American actress and author (born 1960)
- Anne BancroftAmerican actress (1931–2005)
- Anne CarsonCanadian and Icelandic poet, essayist, and academic (born 1950)
- Anne, Princess RoyalDaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, born 1950
- Anne BaxterAmerican actress (1923–1985)
- Anne L'HuillierFrench physicist, born 1958
- Anne of KyivFrench Queen, middle daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kyiv and Novgorod, 1025–1070
- Anne Robert Jacques TurgotFrench economist and statesman (1727–1781)
- Anne of BrittanyDuchess of Brittany and twice Queen of France (1477-1514)
- Anne BonnyFemale pirate, born 1697
More French girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Anne mean?
- Anne means “ann”, “hannah”, “grace” in French.
- What is the origin of the name Anne?
- From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה…
- How popular is the name Anne?
- In 2025, 30 girls born in England and Wales were named Anne, ranking 1,110th. Its peak was 1996, with 72 births.
- Is Anne a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 325,954 US babies named Anne since 1880 were girls.
- When was Anne most popular?
- 1959 in the United States, when 5,745 babies were named Anne, its highest rank at 82nd.
- How do you pronounce Anne?
- Anne is /æn/, one syllable.