Anna
Meaning of Anna
Anna is the Greek and Latin form of the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning grace or favor. In English it is pronounced AN-uh, and in Italian AH-nah.
In the Gospel of Luke, Anna is a prophetess who meets the infant Jesus at the Temple, and Christian tradition names the Virgin Mary's mother Anna, known in English as Saint Anne. Well-known fictional Annas include Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Princess Anna in Disney's Frozen. Among famous real-life bearers are the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and longtime Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
In the United States, Anna was the No. 2 girls' name every year from 1880 to 1899. By 1971 it had fallen to 106th, but it climbed back to 19th in 2001. It has declined since, ranking 107th in 2025 with 2,521 babies.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as AH-nah (/ˈaːna/)
English
- Pronunced as AN-uh (/ˈænə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Anna
| Anna Wintour is a British and American media executive, the longtime editor in chief of Vogue and global chief content officer of Conde Nast, a powerful Met Gala chair famed for her bob and sunglasses, praised for spotting trends yet seen as aloof. |
| Kisan Baburao Anna Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements for rural development, government transparency, and anti corruption, and he received the Padma Bhushan in 1992. |
| Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood film star and the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition, built a career across silent and sound film, television, stage and radio. |
| Anna Akhmatova, born Anna Andreyevna Gorenko, was a leading 20th century Russian and Soviet poet, a wartime voice in World War II, and a Nobel Prize in Literature nominee in 1965 and 1966. |
| Anna Kay Faris is an American actress best known for her comedic roles, especially as Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie films. |
| Anna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina, a principal with the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes, celebrated for The Dying Swan and as the first ballerina to tour the world with her own company. |
| Anna of Russia - Anna Ioannovna was regent of Courland from 1711 to 1730 and Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740, continuing the reforms of Peter the Great while her reign was later seen in Russia as a dark era. |
| Anna Paquin is a New Zealand actress, born in Canada and raised in Wellington, who won an Oscar at 11 for The Piano and later appeared in films like Fly Away Home and Almost Famous. |
| American actress Anna Cooke Kendrick is known for charming roles in comedies and musicals and has earned Oscar, Emmy, and Tony nominations. |
| Anna Tuthill Harrison served only one month as first lady in 1841, never went to Washington, was the oldest to assume the role until 2021, became the first to be widowed while serving, and uniquely was wife of one president and grandmother of another. |
| Anna Cappellini is an Italian ice dancer who, with partner Luca Lanotte, won the 2014 World and European titles and the 2015 Cup of China, and is a 13 time Grand Prix medalist and seven time Italian national champion. |
| Anna Veith is an Austrian former alpine ski racer, Olympic gold medalist, and overall World Cup champion in 2014 and 2015. |
