Anne
Anne was the 619th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 472 babies. Its best year was 1915, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1959 (5,745). Over the last ten years it has moved down 54 places. More babies were named Anne in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning grace, favor (from Hannah) · Hebrew, French
Say it AN /æn/
- Rank in 2025
- #619 girls, up 7 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 472girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19595,745 babies
- Total since 1880
- 325,954babies recorded
What does the name Anne mean?
Anne is the French form of Anna, from Hebrew Channah (Hannah), which DMNES glosses as "grace, favor." Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel. The name spread in Christian Europe through Saint Anne, the mother of Mary in tradition, and Anna the prophetess in Luke's Gospel. DMNES lists queens consort of England and Bohemia and a duchess of Brittany among its medieval bearers. Wiktionary notes that English took the name chiefly from French. Ann, Anna and Hannah are close relatives.
חַנָּה (Biblical Hebrew, “Hannah; grace, favor”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Ann, Anna, Hannah, Annie, Anita, Nancy.
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', DMNES (Durham University)
- 1 Samuel 1:2, The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition (via Sefaria), Jewish Publication Society / Sefaria
- Luke 2:36 (New Testament), King James Version, via Bible Gateway, Bible Gateway (KJV, public domain)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Anne' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Anne
The usual nicknames for Anne are Annie, Nan and Nancy. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Anne in the last five years, 302 were named Annie, against 107 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie · also for Anna, Anastasia, Annabelle | Traditional | #182 | 7,468 |
| Nan · also for Anna, Nancy | Traditional | — | 6 |
| Nancy · Nancy began as a pet form of Ann | Traditional | #967 | 1,382 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Annes go by each one.
Anne popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 826 since 1900.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #619 | 472 |
| 2020 | #626 | 463 |
| 2010 | #609 | 484 |
| 2000 | #298 | 1,081 |
| 1990 | #155 | 1,926 |
| 1980 | #112 | 2,780 |
| 1970 | #112 | 3,441 |
| 1960 | #88 | 5,636 |
| 1950 | #84 | 4,459 |
| 1940 | #84 | 2,897 |
| 1930 | #83 | 3,091 |
| 1920 | #65 | 4,114 |
| 1910 | #67 | 1,413 |
| 1900 | #108 | 614 |
| 1890 | #123 | 319 |
| 1880 | #120 | 136 |
How popular is Anne, counting every spelling?
Anne is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #457 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #619 for Anne on its own. Together these spellings went to 697 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne | 472 | #619 | 2,473 |
| Ann | 225 | #1,076 | 1,120 |
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 Anne?
472 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Anne (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Anne 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 18 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Anne.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Anne?
About 185,600 people born in the US named Anne are alive today, with a median age of 61; half are between 45 and 71. That makes Anne a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Anne by state
How common Anne was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Alabama (5.5×), Mississippi (4.8×), Massachusetts (2.3×), South Carolina (2.3×), Virginia (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Anne: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Anne, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Anne · Sibling names for Anne
Questions about the name Anne
What does Anne mean?
Anne means “grace, favor (from Hannah)” (Hebrew, French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Anne?
Anne was the 619th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 472 babies. Its best year was 1915, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1959 (5,745). Over the last ten years it has moved down 54 places. More babies were named Anne in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Anne a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Anne in the US.
Where is Anne most popular?
In 2021–2025, Anne was most common in Alabama (1.67 per 1,000 girls), followed by Mississippi and District of Columbia.