Anna
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace". It is the name of Samuel's mother in the Hebrew Bible, rendered Ἄννα in Greek, Hannah in English, and Anna in Latin. The Greek form also appears in the New Testament story of Anna the Prophetess.
- English
- Italian
- German
- Dutch
Meaning & Origin of Anna
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace". It is the name of Samuel's mother in the Hebrew Bible, rendered Ἄννα in Greek, Hannah in English, and Anna in Latin. The Greek form also appears in the New Testament story of Anna the Prophetess.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
- Italian
- German
- Dutch
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
- Finnish
- Estonian
- Latvian
- Greek
- Hungarian
- Polish
- Russian
- Ukrainian
- Belarusian
- Czech
- Slovak
- Bulgarian
- Armenian
- Icelandic
- Faroese
- Catalan
- Occitan
- Breton
- Scottish Gaelic
- Biblical
- Biblical Greek
- Biblical Latin
- Old Church Slavic
The Story of Anna
The earliest SSA record of Anna as a baby girl name dates back to 1880, when 2,604 babies received it. 1918 was its biggest year on record, with 15,666 newborns named Anna — #10 in the national rankings. In the latest 2026 data it stands at #99 among baby girl names with 2,548 births, falling sharply (-28%). In total, more than 917K Annas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Anna
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Anna. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Where is Anna most common?
Predicted country distribution based on naming patterns globally.
- Italy35%
- Poland33%
- United States12%
- Russia10%
- Sweden10%
Source: Nationalize.io . Probabilities are global naming-pattern estimates, not strict counts.
Names that sound like Anna
Phonetically similar names — useful when Anna is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Anna
What does the name Anna mean?
What is the origin of the name Anna?
How popular is Anna in 2026?
When was Anna most popular?
In which U.S. states is Anna most popular?
Is Anna a unisex name?
What names go well with Anna?
What are nicknames or variants of Anna?
About the name Anna
Anna is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 917K births in the dataset. Anna's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #2. Use the chart and map above to compare Anna's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1918 →
- Names of the 1910s →
- Names starting with "A" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.