Anna is a first name typically given to girls, but in rare cases also used as a boys name.
The first name Anna is one of the top 100 most popular girls names in the US – currently at #47 in our SmartGenius ranking. Over 1,000 babies each year are named Anna, accounting for approximately 0.30 % of all newborn girls. In total, there are currently 755,149 people – children, adults and seniors – named Anna living in the United States, which is approximately 0.23 % of the entire population.
As a short form of the name Hannah, the first name Anna goes back to the Hebrew word ‘hannāh’. Anna therefore means as much as ‘the graceful’ or also ‘the graced’. In addition, Anna can also be interpreted as a short form of Germanic names beginning with the syllable ‘arn-‘ (‘eagle’), or as a short form of names ending in (-anna).
What does it mean to be gifted? People are often described as gifted if they are distinguished by a particular artistic ability. For example, painters or dancers.
Anna Netrebko (*1971)
Russian opera singer (soprano) Anna Netrebko is one of the world's leading opera singers and is considered one of the greatest talents of her generation. Netrebko has sung a wide variety of roles, including the title role in Verdi's 'Aida' and Violetta in 'La Traviata'. She has received numerous awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording and the German Record Critics' Award. Netrebko has also served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is known for her involvement in humanitarian and charitable causes.
Anna Kendrick (*1985)
Anna Kendrick is an American actress and singer. Kendrick is known for her roles in films such as 'Up in the Air' (2009), 'Twilight' (2008 -2011), 'Pitch Perfect' (2012) and 'A Simple Favor' (2018). She has received several Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Film Award nominations for her performances. Kendrick has also published a book called 'Scrappy Little Nobody' (2016), which describes her experiences as an actress and her personal life.
Anna Paquin (*1982)
In 1994, at the age of eleven, Anna Paquin won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the film drama 'The Piano', making her the second youngest Oscar winner in history. She is a New Zealand actress known for her role as Rogue in the 'X-Men' films (2010 - 2014), as well as for her appearances in television series such as 'True Blood' (2008 - 2014). Paquin is also known for her work as a producer and philanthropist. She supports several charities and has been an advocate for social and political issues.
Anna Kournikova (*1981)
Anna Kournikova began playing tennis at the age of 8 and became one of the most recognizable faces in professional tennis as a teenager. Although she never won a singles title, she was a strong doubles player, winning two Grand Slam titles (Australian Open 1999, French Open 2002) and several other major tournaments. After her playing career, Kournikova became a familiar face in the media, particularly for her celebrity relationships and modeling career.
Anna Sorokin (*1991)
Anna Sorokin is a Russian fraudster convicted in the United States. She gained notoriety after posing as a wealthy billionaire and attempting to obtain hotel stays, airline tickets, and other luxury items that she could not pay for. Sorokin was charged with fraud in April 2019, and was eventually sentenced to four to 12 years in prison that same month. Her story has garnered media attention, with Shonda Rimes developing the series 'Inventing Anna' (2022) for Netflix.
Anna Wintour (*1949)
Anna Wintour is a British fashion editor and creative director. Wintour is best known as the longtime editor-in-chief of American Vogue and creative director of Cond頎ast. She is considered one of the most influential women in the fashion world and has been instrumental in shaping the style and image of Vogue and other magazines. Wintour has also been recognized for her charitable and political work, particularly her support of the Democratic Party and her promotion of sustainability and environmental issues.
When you hear the name Anna, you might first think of a woman or a girl. But did you know that there are also places with the name Anna? Are you also called Anna? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...
You can find a natural limestone cave, the Anna Cave (Hungary) near a waterfall. In the cave there are not only beautiful limestone structures to see, but also plant fossils to discover.
of the Hundred in South Australia is called the Hundred of Anna. It was named after a daughter of the early settler John Chambers.
is a side bay of Wilhelmina Bay on the Danco Coast of Antarctic Graham Land. It is just south of Cape Anna. Both are named after Anna Osterrieth (1877 - 1957).
is one of the largest inland freshwater reservoirs in Virginia, covering 13,000 acres created by the North Anna Dam on the North Anna River.
History tends to focus on the most famous and best. But even those who play second fiddle leave their mark: Anna is one of those names without which the orchestra would be incomplete. In fact, Anna has reached the SmartGenius top ranking #2 more than once, although the last time was a long time ago, way back in the 19th century in 1899. But even though the peak of its popularity was more than 100 years ago, the name Anna has been given to newborn girls every year since records began. Anna is of exceptional enduring popularity, that conveys the classic vibes of the19th century.
In years where the graph has no value, the name Anna was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.
The popularity of the name Anna peaked a very long time ago, but the name has nevertheless arrived in the 21st century. In 2022, it ranked #81 in our statistics - perhaps a far cry from when your ancestors were children and Anna made it into the top ten more than once, but then again: traditional names often prove to be perennial favorites - so, maybe it's only a matter of time before Anna hits the top again.
Regardless of where you live in the US, chances are you know someone called Anna. Because: There are women and girls named Anna in every state in the USA. If this does not sound particularly spectacular to you, you should know that of the more than 50,000 different female first names that occur in the USA, just 537 are recorded in each individual state, so the name Anna is definitely something very special. In some regions it even makes it into the top 10 of the most popular female first names, for example in Kentucky, where Anna ranks on place 7, making it one of the most common female first names in the entire state. The greatest chance of meeting Anna, however, is in Pennsylvania, where one in 98 girls and women bears this beautiful name – that is far above average – in the entire USA it is only one in 204, women and girls and in Florida, where the name is least represented in relation to the population, you even have to ask an average of 349 women and girls for their name before you once get Anna as an answer.
Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter A is the most popular first letter for girls’ names. 11.8% of all common girls’ names in the US start with this letter. The second most common first letter in girls' names is S.
With four letters, the name Anna is shorter than most other given names. In fact, only 5.5% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly four letters. Just 1.2% of all first names are even shorter, while 93% consist of more than four letters. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.
That means that if 11.8% of all girls' names start with an A, this initial letter occurs over three times as often as all other letters on average. And, by the way, of all the girls' names that begin with the letter A, the name Ashley is the most common.
If your name is Anna and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...
So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Anna, you can simply say:
Apple
Nut
Nut
Apple
Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.
Anna
Anna
Just use American Sign Language!
These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.
A
N
N
A
In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.
A
N
N
A
In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Anna sounds like this:
