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[Opinions] Anya or Anna?
Which one do you prefer?

This message was edited 11/30/2011, 12:05 PM

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I think they're both dated. I used to live in Germany and there were lots of women named Anya (mostly spelled Anja) who were born in the 70s. Anna is very 80s dated, but I think it's also dated here in the US. I think I prefer Anya. I like the spelling that uses the Y instead of Ania or Anja. So Anya looks pretty to me.
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Wow... I've never thought of Anna as dated. Not once. Ahhhh perspective.
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Yeah me either... it's not really, is it? http://www.behindthename.com/top/search.php?terms=anna
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yes, Anna is a timeless, classic name. just like the name's Mike or Dave. these are names that never go out of style. you know how the bible has been around for 2000 years and it even contains some names that we still use today. the archangels Michael and Gabriel are names we still use today. and The names Elizabeth, Sarah, Rebecca, Joanna and Naomi and Mary are all found in the bible (among some other harder to pronounce names). for me, Anna is timeless and can never go out of fashion.
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I'd say Anna is one of THE most classic names I can think of. It's seriously timeless to me. I could see a modern businesswoman named Anna as well as a twelfth-century milkmaid. I'd say that it's pretty well stood the test of time.
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I think it's cleary on its way out of the top 100. It has been falling since 2005 or so. But maybe that's just me. I was born in the late 80s and know more girls named Anna than with any other name. It's the standard example of a super boring name to me. I don't know any under 10.
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That's just not supported by the numbers. In America, it's been more popular in the last ten years than in any decade since the 30s. It's super boring but it's not dated.
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To me it's dated because it has passed its peak of popularity and is going down. It's still common now but sounds as tired as it soon will be.Yeah I know but it's just a statistic. I know 4 Autumns who were all born in California and three of them are about the same age (teens) but it never made the top 100 there and I know of many other cases. Maybe it's because I live in an area where names tend to get popular earlier. I grew up with several Bellas and Avas and I was born in the late 80s when those names should have been rare. Not saying that the statistics aren't usually right, just that it can be really different not only in different states but also in different areas in that state or even different parts of the same city. I don't really care if that's supported by numbers, I just know lots and lots of Annas who were born in the 80s and I think I'm not the only one.
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are you by any chance a republican
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No, why?
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general tendency of sticking by "feeling," impression, and anecdote rather than actual statistics.It just hasn't been falling that steadily at all, 22-28 over a period of five years is really not that dramatic of a change or even a pattern, and even then its peak of popularity would have been 2001, not the eighties. It's still more popular now than it has been in any year of the 80s. A lot about names is subjective, like... whether they're nice or not... is subjective, and you might have gotten the impression that Anna is "dated to the eighties" because of the purely subjective sample of Annas that you happen to know, but there are a few objectively measurable things, like popularity over the years. Even with regional variations...
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Uhm no. If you look at popularity lists by state you can see how much they vary. Some have Aurora in the top 30 while it doesn't even appear in the top 100 or so in most other states. And states are huge so it's very well possible that popularity varies within a state.I study economics, I know how you fake a statistic and MANY are fake. It's not that I don't believe in the popularity stats, I generally do. But I know how many Annas have met and whether it feels dated to me personally or not. I even opened a thread (which must have been several years ago already) in which I asked people what the top names in their state were the year they were born in and there were many surprises such as people knowing 5 or more people with a name that was at number 90 or knowing none with the top name. It varies.I don't really know what your problem is. You seem so defensive. To me Anna is dated because I know lots who were born in the 80s and hardly any younger ones. And I'm not the only one as you have seen. I'm not saying that it's a bad name or anything it just seems tired to me. It's really unnecessary to discuss this because this particular statistic isn't accurate enough, meaning that there is no exact statistic for my city or my neighborhood.edited: There were actually more Annas born in 1988 than in 2008. There could be several explanations such as a generally bigger variety in names (now) or changed birth rates I'm not interested enough in the name to look it up. But there were more Annas born the year I was born in than now.

This message was edited 12/2/2011, 2:09 PM

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It's really not that interesting of a conversation, I agree, but it's just such a strange point you're making. I just don't get what you're saying...

The percentages are virtually almost the same.
and of course it varies across the individual states, but we weren't talking about individual states, you said "the US." It might have had a spurt of unusual popularity in your state in the 80s and that's why you "feel" that it's dated, but for the US as a whole it's just not like that. A name can "feel" dated to someone without actually being dated... I know tons of young Annas, but my "anecdotal evidence" doesn't mean very much and especially wouldn't be interesting to someone not from my area
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Uhm no, I wrote I think it's dated in the US, not I know for a fact it's dated. It was simply my opinion based on what I experienced in my area. Never did I say things like "Anna is so dated, no one should use it, it screams 80s". That's what you're reading into it. Read my posts again, please.I never started this discussion, you did. I felt it was dated and saw that supported by the fact that it is falling (slowly but it is falling) I thought it would feel dated to others because it seems to be used a little less each year. If you don't understand what I'm saying I can't help you but this discussion is so pointless and I don't really see what YOU are getting at. There were more Annas born in 1988. That's all I was saying and it is a fact.I always said "in my opinion" "from my personal feelings". I never even said it was a fact that it was dated, I stated what is the case in my area and from my experience. So again to make it clear: In MY opinion Anna is a dated name because in MY area it was used a lot in the 80s. In my kindergarten class 5 out of 20 girls were named Anna and there was an Anna-Sumi as well. I know more girls named Anna than with any other feminine name and I don't know many young ones. So to me it is tired and dated.Maybe I should have made that clearer. I won't answer to this thread anymore because it's so old and I don't feel like searching for it again plus this is getting nowhere.

This message was edited 12/2/2011, 4:49 PM

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I know quite a few Anna's who are not republicans who were born in my age group which was the late 80's.Anna was pretty common in the 80's even if it wasn't as common as it is currently.My partner has had crushes on two different Anna's. One just before I met him and one when he was in middle school.I grew up next to an Anna, but she only lived in my neighborhood for about 6 years before moving. I grew up in a very democrat heavy city and neighborhood.
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This message was edited 12/2/2011, 4:42 AM

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I know many Anna's around my age which was the late 80's. I also know many Anna's born recently. Anna just feels to me like a name that has been common for a long time and has stayed popular. I think of it as an 80's, 90's, 2000's and 2010's name. I guess I consider names that are 60 - 50 to be just starting to be in the popular zone.I have a cousin Anna who is 12 or 13 years old I think.
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This message was edited 12/1/2011, 9:22 PM

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I've known more Nicole's than any other girl's name near my age group. But most of them were two - four years younger than me. I knew only one in my age group. Most of them went by Nikki, Niki, Nicki or Nicky. My sister went by Nicole mostly and sometimes Nicky. She was born in 1990 but went to school with 1991 kids. I also knew a few Jessica's, Jennifer's, Megan's, Sophia's / Sophie's and Sarah's in my sisters age group, but I only knew one or two in my own age group. Most of the Jessica's in my age group went by Jessica. Most in her age group went by Jessie or Jess. Most of the Jennifer's in both our age groups went by Jen or Jenny. I also know many Jennifer's who were born in the 60's and 70's who go by Jen and Jenny. The one or two Megan's I knew went by Megan. Though I know at least one in my sister's age group went by Meg. I also knew some Megan's who were born in the 60's or 70's. They went by Megan mostly.I knew many Melissa's who were older than me by a few years. Also many Chloe's and Caitlin's who were a few years older. As well as some Stephanie's and Amber's.The most common name for me in my age group would either be Sarah or Laura / Lauren.

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This message was edited 12/2/2011, 6:05 AM

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Anna, nn AnyaHave your cake and eat it too!
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I know it's commonly used as a nickname for Anna is Russia but I don't think it would work anywhere else. Just my opinion.
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That surprises me. Anya seems intuitive to me, not really any more difficult than Annie. I actually think it would be easier for a modern English speaker (who isn't a namenerd) to see the relationship between Anna and Anya than it would be with nicknames like Nan or Nancy.
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Nan and Nancy have been used for ages. I don't think such a nickname could be easily established today. The reason why it worked back then was because at that time there were sometimes two or three people with the same common name in a family which were usually Elizabeth, Mary and Anne so people got extremely creative and the nicknames just became familiar. But nowadays with such a great variety in names I think it would feel forced. But that's just me and I'm known for really disliking far fetched nicknames. I actually know girls named Anna nn Anya from Poland but still it doesn't work for me.
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This.
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Anya.Anna is dull.
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Anna.
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AnyaBUFFY NERDI do like Anna though. Maybe Anna, nn Anya
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Anna
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Anna.:)
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Anne.
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Anya. It sounds less common then Anna, plus I love the Russian connection.
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Always loved Anyaonly ever met one though.
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Both kinda bore me due to excess use... Anya might have a slight edge on Anna except that it feels a tad on the trendy side these days.
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AnyaI really love Anya and Enya. I like Anna when pronounced AHN-ah rather than AN-nah.I like Anya because for an adult woman it feels sexy, beautiful and exotic but not too out there. For a young girl it feels cute, creative and spunky. I like the fact that Anya is similar to Anna but a lot less used.
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ANNAAnya is never, ever used as a full name in Russia. It's purely a nickname, and it drives me nuts to see it as a given name.I do love Anna "Anya", though.
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Anya
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AnyaI like both, but lately I've been loving Anya. I think Anna is more classic, but does have the possibility of being boring. Anya is just a little bit more unusual and it sounds grounded and strong while retaining femininity.
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AnyaI love Anya. It's got more spunk that Anna. Plus it's so cute-sounding.
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Hard! I love both!
I think Anna is more versatile; it goes with almost any middle name you can think of, while Anya only works with certain slightly earthier ones. On the other hand Anya is more uncommon. Maybe a bit more colorful. I can't pick between them though; I like them both too much...
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Anna
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I like both but I have to go with Anya since it has more of a foreign feel to it.
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