Gender Feminine
Scripts Άννα(Greek) Анна(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Church Slavic) Աննա(Armenian) Ἄννα(Ancient Greek)
Pronounced Pron. AN-ə(English) AN-na(Italian, Polish, Icelandic) A-na(German, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Czech) AH-na(Dutch) AHN-na(Norwegian) AHN-nah(Finnish) AWN-naw(Hungarian) AN-nə(Russian, Catalan)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Form of Channah (see Hannah) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling instead of Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

In England, this Latin form has been used alongside the vernacular forms Ann and Anne since the late Middle Ages. Anna is currently the most common of these spellings in all English-speaking countries (since the 1970s), however the biblical form Hannah is presently more popular than all three.

The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It is also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina (1877), about a married aristocrat who begins an ultimately tragic relationship with Count Vronsky.

Related Names

VariantsAnissa, Ann, Anne(English) Anne(German) Annelien, Anne(Dutch) Anne(Swedish) Anne(Norwegian) Anne(Danish) Anne(Finnish) Anne(Estonian) Ana(Bulgarian) Aina(Catalan)
DiminutivesAnnetta(Italian) Anika, Anina, Anneli, Annelie, Anni, Anelie, Anuschka(German) Anika, Anke, Anneke, Anouk, Ans, Antje, Annuska, Anoushka, Anouska, Anuschka(Dutch) Annica, Annika(Swedish) Anniken(Norwegian) Ane, Anika, Anni(Danish) Anni, Anniina, Annikki, Annukka, Anu, Niina(Finnish) Anni, Anu(Estonian) Anikó, Panka, Panna, Panni(Hungarian) Aneta, Anika, Anka(Polish) Ania, Annushka, Anya(Russian) Aneta(Czech) Anelia, Aneliya, Aneta, Ani, Anka, Neli(Bulgarian) Annaig, Annick(Breton) Nandag(Scottish Gaelic)
Other Languages & CulturesAna(Albanian) Hannah(Arabic) Ane, Anne(Basque) Channah(Biblical Hebrew) Ana, Hana, Anica, Anita, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Jana, Nensi(Croatian) Ana(Fijian) Anne, Annette, Annick, Annie, Anny, Anouk, Ninon(French) Antje(Frisian) Ana, Anano, Ani, Anuki(Georgian) Chana, Chanah, Hanna, Hannah(Hebrew) Nainsí(Irish) Ona(Lithuanian) Anke, Antje(Low German) Ana, Aneta(Macedonian) Ann(Manx) Ana, Anita(Portuguese) Ana, Anca, Ancuța, Ani, Anișoara(Romanian) Ana, Anica, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Jana(Serbian) Ana, Hana, Anica, Anika, Anita, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Anuša, Nuša(Slovene) Hana(Sorbian) Ana, Ani, Anita(Spanish) Ana(Tongan) Henda, Hendel, Hene, Henye(Yiddish)
User SubmissionsÁnná, Anna, Annà

People think this name is

classic   formal   natural   wholesome   refined   simple   serious  

Name Days

Austria: February 9
Austria: July 26
Bulgaria: December 9
Czechia: July 26
Denmark: July 26
Estonia: July 26
Finland: December 9
Germany: July 26
Greece: July 25
Greece: December 9
Hungary: July 26
Italy: July 26
Latvia: July 26
Norway: July 26
Poland: July 26
Poland: August 7
Russia: February 16
Russia: February 23
Russia: April 8
Russia: July 18
Russia: December 22
Slovakia: July 26
Sweden: December 9

Images

Depiction of Saint Anna (a.k.a. Anne) from the 8th centuryDepiction of Saint Anna (a.k.a. Anne) from the 8th century

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Entry updated April 5, 2022