The first name Fanny
A girl’s name.
Pronounced /ˈfæni/ 2 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
A diminutive of the female given name Frances, itself also becoming a given name.
Fanny is a short form of
.From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Fanny at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 18 girls born in the United States were named Fanny, the 6,397th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1916, when 241 were.
9,654
babies named Fanny since 1880
#6,397
rank in 2025
1916
peak year
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.
Fanny in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Fanni
Finnish
Spelled Fanny in Danish, French, German and Swedish too.
Nicknames and spellings
Other spellings and forms
Famous people named Fanny
52 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Fanny ArdantFrench actress (born 1949)
- Fanny ElsslerAustrian ballerina (1810-1884)
- Fanny Blankers-KoenDutch track and field athlete (1918–2004)
- Fanny BriceAmerican actress, singer and comedian (1891–1951)
- Fanny Crosby19th century Christian hymnist, 1820–1915
- Fanny Bullock WorkmanAmerican geographer, cartographer, explorer, travel writer, and mountaineer (1859–1925)
- Fanny Horn BirkelandBiathlete, born 1988
- Fanny ChurbergFinnish artist (1845-1892)
- Fanny CottençonFrench actress and producer, born 1957
- Fanny FischerGerman canoeist, born 1986
- Fanny StevensonAmerican author, wife of Robert Louis Stevenson (1840-1914)
- Fanny ImlayDaughter of Mary Wollstonecraft (1794-1816)
Questions
- Is Fanny a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 9,654 US babies named Fanny since 1880 were girls.
- When was Fanny most popular?
- 1916 in the United States, when 241 babies were named Fanny, its highest rank at 405th.
- How do you pronounce Fanny?
- Fanny is /ˈfæni/, 2 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Fanny?
- Fannie.