Anakin
Anakin was the 648th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 427 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 544th with 541 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 261 places. More babies were named Anakin in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it AN-uh-kin /ˈænəkɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #648 boys, up 54 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 427boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2023541 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,892babies recorded
What does the name Anakin mean?
Anakin is an invented name from Star Wars. Wiktionary records that George Lucas used a character called Annikin Starkiller in early drafts from about 1974, and that the spelling Anakin first appeared in print in 1977, in the novel Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. No source we checked records a meaning given by Lucas, so the name has none beyond the character. US records show it from 1995 for boys.
How sure is this? Not documented. A fictional coinage with no documented meaning; popular claims about its derivation are unconfirmed.
Related names: Annikin.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Anakin' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Anakin popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 50 since 2016, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #648 | 427 |
| 2020 | #702 | 361 |
| 2010 | #1,574 | 100 |
| 2000 | #1,334 | 96 |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Anakin, counting every spelling?
Anakin is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #633 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #648 for Anakin on its own. Together these spellings went to 433 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anakin | 427 | #648 | 2,348 |
| Anakyn | 6 | #10,781 | 35 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Anakin?
427 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Anakin (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Anakin born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Anakin.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Anakin?
About 5,800 people born in the US named Anakin are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 13. That makes Anakin a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Anakin by state
How common Anakin was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.4×), Kentucky (2.2×), Oregon (1.7×), Oklahoma (1.6×), California (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Anakin: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Anakin, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Anakin · Sibling names for Anakin
Questions about the name Anakin
How popular is the name Anakin?
Anakin was the 648th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 427 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 544th with 541 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 261 places. More babies were named Anakin in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Anakin a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Anakin in the US.
Where is Anakin most popular?
In 2021–2025, Anakin was most common in Nevada (0.65 per 1,000 boys), followed by Kentucky and Oregon.