Anna
Anna was the 107th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,521 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1918 (15,666). Over the last ten years it has moved down 63 places. More babies were named Anna in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning grace, favor · Hebrew, Greek, Latin
Say it AN-uh /ˈænə/
- Rank in 2025
- #107 girls, down 39 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,521girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 191815,666 babies
- Total since 1880
- 917,615babies recorded
What does the name Anna mean?
Anna is the Greek and Latin form of the Hebrew Channah (Hannah), 'grace, favor'. It appears in the New Testament as the prophetess Anna, and in Christian tradition as Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. DMNES lists these bearers, and many medieval queens, under Anne. Wikipedia notes that Anna, Ann and Anne are all in wide use, with Anne originally a French form. Anna is the usual form in most European languages.
חַנָּה (Biblical Hebrew, “Channah, grace”)Ἄννα (Koine Greek, “Anna”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Ann, Anne, Hannah, Ana, Annie, Anya, Annika.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean grace.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Anne', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Anna', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Anna (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Anna
The usual nicknames for Anna are Annie and Nan. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Anna in the last five years, 53 were named Annie, against 9 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie · also for Anastasia, Annabelle, Anne | Traditional | #182 | 7,468 |
| Nan · also for Anne, Nancy | Traditional | — | 6 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Annas go by each one.
Anna popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,756 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #107 | 2,521 |
| 2020 | #68 | 3,511 |
| 2010 | #27 | 6,336 |
| 2000 | #22 | 10,613 |
| 1990 | #45 | 7,293 |
| 1980 | #55 | 5,038 |
| 1970 | #102 | 3,801 |
| 1960 | #104 | 4,659 |
| 1950 | #93 | 3,815 |
| 1940 | #51 | 4,717 |
| 1930 | #23 | 9,081 |
| 1920 | #10 | 14,581 |
| 1910 | #6 | 6,436 |
| 1900 | #3 | 6,114 |
| 1890 | #2 | 5,233 |
| 1880 | #2 | 2,604 |
How popular is Anna, counting every spelling?
Anna is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #73 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #107 for Anna on its own. Together these spellings went to 3,813 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | 2,521 | #107 | 14,215 |
| Ana | 1,276 | #245 | 6,801 |
| Annah | 16 | #6,865 | 96 |
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 Anna?
2,521 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Anna (0.70 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Anna 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 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Anna.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Anna?
About 432,700 people born in the US named Anna are alive today, with a median age of 34; half are between 22 and 56. That makes Anna mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Anna by state
How common Anna was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Vermont (3.3×), District of Columbia (2.8×), Maine (2.4×), New Hampshire (2.3×), Mississippi (2.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Hawaii, California, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Anna: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Anna, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Anna · Sibling names for Anna
Anna is also a nickname for Joanna.
Questions about the name Anna
What does Anna mean?
Anna means “grace, favor” (Hebrew, Greek, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Anna?
Anna was the 107th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,521 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1918 (15,666). Over the last ten years it has moved down 63 places. More babies were named Anna in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Anna a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Anna in the US.
Where is Anna most popular?
In 2021–2025, Anna was most common in Vermont (5.78 per 1,000 girls), followed by District of Columbia and Maine.