Anna

Where Anna comes from

From Late Latin Anna both directly and via numerous other languages, chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anne the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As a city in Illinois, named for Anna Davie, wife of one of the initial settlers. Doublet of Ann, Anne, Ana, and Hannah.
— Wiktionary's entry for Anna
  • Latin
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #2 among girls — 2,604 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1889
    Anna Akhmatova born
    Russian poet
  3. 1895
    Peak, #2
    5,950 babies named Anna — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1971
    Anna Netrebko born
    Russian and Austrian operatic soprano
  5. 2001
    The comeback
    Back to #19 after sinking to #106 in 1971.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Latin.
Namesakes
  • Anna Netrebko · Russian and Austrian operatic soprano, born 1971
  • Anna Akhmatova · Russian poet, 1889–1966
  • Anna Politkovskaya · Russian journalist, 1958–2006
  • Anna Kournikova · Russian tennis player and model, born 1981
  • Anna Pavlova · Russian ballet dancer, 1882–1931

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.