Anna
Anna sits comfortably in the UK charts at #142 in 2025 — recognisable but not overwhelming. Your child may occasionally share their name.
Hebrew — Grace, favour
About the Name Anna
Anna is gradually declining in popularity, having dropped 36 places over five years. Its high point was #31 in 2000, and it now sits at #125. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It has spent 26 of the last 30 years inside the UK top 100 — a mark of enduring mainstream appeal.
In terms of origin, Anna is rooted in Hebrew, where it means "Grace, favour". Names with strong etymological stories tend to age well — they carry weight beyond fashion cycles.
Anna is fairly common in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Anna in their class.
In the US it ranks even higher at #94, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
⭐ Famous People Named Anna
- Anna Petrakova — Anna "Anya" Viktorovna Petrakova-Parker is a Russian former basketball player.
- Anna Wintour — Dame Anna Wintour is a British and American media executive who served as editor-in-chief of Vogue from 1988 to 2025.
- Anna Throndsen — Anna Tronds or Anna Kristoffersdatter, known in English as Anna Throndsen and posthumously as Anna Rustung, was a Dano-Norwegian noblewoman, daughter of admiral Kristoffer Throndsen, a Danish-Norwegian admiral of Norwegian origin.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Anna
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Anna
Almost certainly the only Anna in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2025)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Anna
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
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Famous People Named Anna
Notable people who share this name, from history to the present day. See full list on Wikipedia