Anna
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Meaning
"grace, favor," the Greek and Latin form of Hannah that spread wherever Christianity went; empresses of Russia, a prophetess in the Gospel of Luke, and centuries of quiet European use. The plainest spelling of one of the world's most shared names
Goes by Ani, Annie, Nan. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Anna Gasser, the Austrian Olympic big air snowboarding champion. Famously borne by Anna Akhmatova, one of Russia's greatest poets.
The story
Anna is the Greek and Latin form of Hannah, the Hebrew name for grace and favor, and it traveled wherever Christianity did: the Gospel of Luke gives us Anna the prophetess, Russia crowned an Empress Anna, and Tolstoy gave literature Anna Karenina. What sets Anna apart in American records is not a dramatic rise or fall but an almost uncanny steadiness: strong in the 1890s, and never far from that level in any decade since. Wars, fashions, and whole waves of trendier names have come and gone while Anna simply held its ground, given generously in every generation for well over a century. Few names can claim that. It is the plainest spelling of one of the most widely shared names on earth, and its record suggests it will still feel current when today's newborns are naming children of their own.
Anna across languages
One shared root links 9 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Channah "grace, favor", Hannah's prayer-name smoothed through Greek and Latin into Anna and Anne
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Anna around the world?
In the United States, 17,737 babies were named Anna between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 196 girls were given the name Anna in 2025.
Anna is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Austria, Poland, France, Ireland, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, England and Wales, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Montevideo and Chile.
Anna crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 1,200
In the United States, 17,737 babies were named Anna between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Anna peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure. Anna went to 5,157 US babies in 2015 and 2,521 in 2025, 49% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 140register 2026
In Norway, 196 girls were given the name Anna in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Austria
1 in 180
In Austria, 423 girls named Anna were born in 2025, the 6th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 210
In Poland, 1,147 girls named Anna were born in 2025, the 34th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
France
1 in 330
In France, about 1,925 girls named Anna were born in 2025, the 15th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Ireland
1 in 380
In Ireland, 143 girls named Anna were born in 2025, the 26th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 600
In Scotland, 76 girls named Anna were registered in 2024, the 53rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 8402017
In South Australia, 22 girls were registered as Anna in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 880
In Canada, 415 girls named Anna were born in 2024, the 51st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 930
In Spain, 48,063 residents are named Anna, the 98th most common name among women, with a mean age of 35.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1,200
At the 2022 census, 163,900 people in Brazil were named Anna, the 202nd most common name, with a median age of 12.
Among people named Anna living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 23,369 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 1,300
In Argentina, 525 newborns were given the name Anna in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
New Zealand
1 in 1,300
In New Zealand, 43 girls named Anna were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 1,700
In England and Wales, 347 girls named Anna were born in 2025, the 142nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
1 in 2,100
In Mexico City, there were 55 registrations of Anna in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,600
In Puerto Rico, 7 babies were named Anna in 2025, and 401 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Montevideo City
1 in 6,2002011
In Montevideo, 4 girls named Anna were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Chile
1 in 6,400
In Chile, 28 girls were registered as Anna in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Anna is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
When you meet Anna
People given the name Anna in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Anna travels
Vietnamese American · grace, favor (a common Vietnamese Catholic baptismal name)
Chinese American · a crossover favorite that echoes Chinese 安 (ān, "peace"), common across generations
Dual-language · also a real Japanese given name written 杏奈 ("apricot, gracefulness") or 安奈, not merely a Western import; one of the strongest true dual-reading names in wide use
Polish · grace (a perennial Polish classic in every generation; Ania at home)
Keep exploring
Names like Anna · Names that go with Anna · Nicknames for Anna · Middle names for Anna · Dual-language baby names · Vietnamese American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Polish baby names · Short names · Climbers and fallers
The Anna deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Anna truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Anna fits with your family’s names and surname.
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