Annette
Annette was the 1443rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 149 babies. Its best year was 1960, when it ranked 62nd with 7,136 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 106 places. More babies were named Annette in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning little Anne · French, Hebrew
Say it uh-NET /əˈnɛt/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,443 girls, down 178 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 149girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19607,136 babies
- Total since 1880
- 169,795babies recorded
What does the name Annette mean?
Annette is the French diminutive of Anne, with the suffix -ette, as Wiktionary notes. Anne comes from Hebrew Ḥannah 'favor, grace', the name of the mother of the prophet Samuel, and Saint Anne is the mother of the Virgin Mary. Annette was popular in the US in the 1950s and 1960s, the era of Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.
חַנָּה (Ḥannah) (Hebrew, “favor, grace”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Anne, Anita, Nettie, Anna.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean grace.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Annette', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Anne', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Annette
The usual nicknames for Annette are Nettie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Annette in the last five years, 12 were named Nettie, against 4 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nettie · also for Jeanette, Antoinette, Henrietta | Traditional | #5,663 | 96 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Annettes go by each one.
Annette popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 499 since 1916.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,443 | 149 |
| 2020 | #1,265 | 177 |
| 2010 | #1,025 | 244 |
| 2000 | #745 | 309 |
| 1990 | #514 | 469 |
| 1980 | #263 | 970 |
| 1970 | #128 | 2,891 |
| 1960 | #62 | 7,136 |
| 1950 | #144 | 2,127 |
| 1940 | #126 | 2,004 |
| 1930 | #220 | 781 |
| 1920 | #220 | 868 |
| 1910 | #253 | 232 |
| 1900 | #310 | 113 |
| 1890 | #317 | 63 |
| 1880 | #295 | 28 |
How popular is Annette, counting every spelling?
Annette is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,284 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,443 for Annette on its own. Together these spellings went to 161 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annette | 149 | #1,443 | 831 |
| Anette | 12 | #8,407 | 100 |
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 Annette?
149 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Annette (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Annette 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 56 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Annette.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Annette?
About 119,500 people born in the US named Annette are alive today, with a median age of 63; half are between 56 and 69. That makes Annette 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.
Annette by state
How common Annette was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Texas (1.5×). In 33 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Annette: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Annette, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Annette · Sibling names for Annette
Questions about the name Annette
What does Annette mean?
Annette means “little Anne” (French, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Annette?
Annette was the 1443rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 149 babies. Its best year was 1960, when it ranked 62nd with 7,136 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 106 places. More babies were named Annette in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Annette a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Annette in the US.
Where is Annette most popular?
In 2021–2025, Annette was most common in Texas (0.15 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Wisconsin.