Anna (name)
![]() Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, depicted instructing her daughter in this painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The popularity of the name Anne is largely due to this saint. | |
Pronunciation | /ˈænə/ |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Hebrew, Greek, Latin |
Meaning | full of grace, Favor |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Ana, Anne, Annie |
See also | Hanna |
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Greek: Ἄννα and the Hebrew name Hannah (Hebrew: חַנָּה, romanized: Ḥannāh), meaning "favour" or "grace" or "beautiful".
Anna is in wide use in countries across the world as are its variants Ana, Anne, originally a French version of the name, though in use in English speaking countries for hundreds of years, and Ann, which was originally the English spelling. Saint Anne is traditionally the name of the mother of the Virgin Mary, which accounts for its wide use and popularity among Christians. The name has also been used for numerous saints and queens. In the context of pre-Christian Europe, the name can be found in Virgil's Aeneid,[1] where Anna appears as the sister of Dido advising her to keep Aeneas in her city.
Variant forms
Alternate forms of Anna, including spelling variants, short forms, diminutives and transliterations are:
- Aina – Catalan, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian
- An – Dutch, Vietnamese
- Ana – Bulgarian, Croatian, English, Galician, Georgian, Hawaiian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovene, Slovak, Spanish, Albanian, Bosnian
- حنا – Arabic
- ანა – Georgian
- Anaïs – Catalan, French, Provençal
- Anano – Georgian
- Anča – Czech, Romanian, Turkish
- Ance – Latvian
- Anci – Hungarian
- Ancsa – Hungarian
- Anša – Bosnian, Swahili
- Ansja – Swedish, Dutch
- Ane – Basque, Danish, Hawaiian
- Anechka – Russian
- Anelie – German
- Anella – Estonian
- Anelle – Estonian
- Anete – Estonian, Latvian
- Anett – Estonian, Hungarian
- Anette – Danish, Estonian, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
- Ania – Polish, Russian, Ukrainian,
- Anica – Croatian, Romanian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish
- Anice – Scots
- Anicuta – Portuguese, Romanian
- Anika – Danish, Dutch, German
- Annika – Swedish, Finnish
- Anikó – Hungarian
- Anilla – Hungarian
- Anina – German
- Anissa – English
- Anisa – Albanian
- Anita – Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, English, Polish, Hungarian
- Anitte – German
- Annychka – Ukrainian
- Anja – Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish
- Anka – Bulgarian, Czech, German, Croatian, Polish, Russian, Serbian
- Anke – Frisian, German
- Anne – Danish, English, Estonian, French, Swedish
- Anna – Afrikaans, Armenian, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Malayalam, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian (Анна), Slovakian, Swedish, Spanish
- 安娜 – Mandarin Chinese
- アンナ – Japanese
- 杏奈 – Japanese
- 안나 (An-na) – Korean[2]
- Annaki – Greek
- Annamma – Malayalam
- Annchen – German
- Ann – Danish, Dutch, English, French, German
- Annechien - Dutch
- Anneka – English
- Anneke – Dutch
- Anneli – Estonian, Finnish, Swedish
- Annelie – Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish
- Annella – Scots
- Annele – Latvian
- Annelle – French
- Annet – Dutch
- Annetta – Italian
- Annette – Danish, Dutch, French, Swedish
- Anni – Estonian, Finnish, German, Swedish
- Annick – Breton
- Annie – Danish, Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Swedish
- Anniina – Finnish
- Annija – Latvian
- Annika – Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Swedish
- Annike – Estonian
- Anniken – Norwegian
- Anniki – Estonian
- Annikki – Finnish
- Anniņa – Latvian
- Annio – Greek
- Annora – English
- Annouche – French
- Annoula – Greek
- Annu – Finnish
- Annus – Hungarian
- Annukka – Finnish
- Annushka – Russian
- Annuska – Hungarian
- Anona – English
- Anouk – Dutch, French
- Ans – Dutch
- Antje – Dutch, German
- Anu – Estonian, Finnish
- Anushka – Russian
- Anya – Russian
- Anyuta, Anyutka – Russian
- Asya – Russian
- Asenka – Russian
- Chana – Hebrew
- Chanah – Hebrew
- Channah – Hebrew
- Hajnal – Hungarian
- Hana ܚܐܢܐ – Syriac
- Hana – Czech, Lithuanian, Slovak, Turkish, Romanian
- Hania – Ukrainian, Polish
- Hanna – Belarusian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Ge'ez, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Hungarian
- Hannah – Hebrew, Arabic, English, Estonian, Swedish
- Hanne – German, Scandinavian
- Hannela – Estonian
- Hannele – Estonian, Finnish
- Hannelore – German
- Hannusia – Ukrainian
- Hena – Yiddish
- Henda – Yiddish
- Hendel – Yiddish
- Hene – Yiddish
- Henye – Yiddish
- Ona – Hebrew, Lithuanian, Finnish
- Onnee – Manx
- Panka – Hungarian
- Panna – Hungarian
- Panni – Hungarian
- Աննա – Armenian
- แอนนา - Thai language
Composite names including Anna and variants
- Áine – Irish version of Anna
- Anabel – English, Galician, Polish, Spanish, Hungarian
- Anabela – Portuguese
- Anabella – Spanish, English, Hungarian
- Anabelle – English
- Ana Laura - Spanish, Portuguese
- Analeigh – English
- Ana Luisa - Spanish, Portuguese
- Ana Maria – Portuguese
- Ana María – Spanish
- Anamaria – English
- Anamaría – Spanish
- Ana-Maria – Romanian
- Ann – Dutch, English
- Annabel – Catalan, Dutch, English, Estonian
- Anna-Bella – English, Swedish
- Annabell – Hungarian
- Annabella – English, German, Italian, Swedish, Hungarian
- Annabelle – English, French
- Annabeth – English
- Anna-Carin – Swedish
- Anna Greta - English, German, Swedish
- Anna-Greta – Swedish
- Anna Julia - English, German, Swedish
- Anna-Julia - Swedish
- Anna Laura - English, German, Swedish
- Anna-Laura - Swedish
- Annalee – English
- Annaleigh - English
- Annaline - English
- Annalyn - English
- Annalynne - English
- Annalyssa - English
- Anna Lisa - English, German, Swedish
- Anna-Lisa – Swedish
- Anna Louisa - English, German, Swedish
- Anna-Louisa - Swedish
- Anna Maria – English, German, Swedish, Catalan
- Anna-Maria – Estonian, Finnish, Polish, Swedish
- Annamaria – Italian
- Annamária – Hungarian
- Ann-Britt – Swedish
- Ann-Charlotte – Swedish
- Ann-Christin – Swedish
- Annegret – German
- Anneke – Dutch
- Annelien – Dutch
- Annelies – Dutch, German
- Anneliese – Dutch, German
- Annelise – Danish
- Anneloes – Dutch
- Annemarie – Dutch, English, German
- Annemiek – Dutch
- Annemieke – Dutch
- Annesophie – German
- Ann-Kristin – Swedish
- Ann-Louise – Swedish
- Ann-Margret – Swedish
- Ann-Mari – Swedish
- Ann-Marie – Swedish
- Annmarie – English
- Ann-Sofi – Swedish
- Ann-Sofie – Swedish
- Ittianna – Malayalam
- Julianna - English, German
- Julianne - English, French
- Lauranna - English, German
- Lauranne - English, French
- Leann – English
- Leanna – English
- Leanne – English
- Leeann – English
- Lianna - English
- Liliana - Portuguese
- Lisann – Estonian
- Lisanna – Estonian
- Lisanne – Dutch, English, Estonian
- Luana – English
- Luann – English
- Luanna – English
- Luanne – English
- Lyanna – English, French, Greek, Latin
- Lyanne – English, French, Greek, Latin
- Marian – English, Estonian, Slovak
- Mariana – Czech, Estonian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish
- Mariann – Estonian, Hungarian
- Marianna – Hungarian
- Mari-Ann – Estonian
- Mari-Anna – Estonian
- Marianna – English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian
- Mari-Anne – Estonian
- Marianne – English, Danish, Estonian, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish
- Marijana – Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
- Marjaana – Estonian, Finnish
- Marjaane – Estonian
- Marjan – Dutch
- Marjana – Croatian, Danish
- Maryann – English
- Maryanne – English
- Hanna-Liina – Estonian
- Pollyanna – English
- Rosanna – English, Italian, Portuguese
- Roseanne – English
- Ruthanne – English
- Saranna – English
People
Anna is a very common given name. People with the name include:
Academics, medicine, and science
- Anna Akhmanova (born 1967), Russian cell biologist
- Anna Apostolaki (1880–1958), Greek archaeologist and museum curator
- Anna Coble (died 2009), American biophysicist
- Anna Manning Comfort (1845–1931), American physician
- Anna Lukens (1844–1917), American physician
- Anna K. Mapp (born 1970), American chemist
- Anna McAllister (1888–1961), American historian
- Anna Melyukova (1921–2004), Russian archaeologist
- Anna Merz (1931–2013), English conservationist
- Anna Stroka (1923–2020), Polish literary historian and author
- Anna May Waters (1903–1987), Canadian nurse
- Anna Weber-van Bosse (1852–1921), Dutch phycologist
- Anna Irwin Young (1873–1920), American mathematician
Activism
- Anna Smeed Benjamin (1834–1924), American social reformer
- Anna Gardner (1816–1901), American abolitionist, poet, teacher
- Anna M. Hammer (1840–1910), American philanthropist and temperance movement leader
- Anna Jacobsen (1924–2004), Norwegian champion of Southern Sami language and culture
- Anna Lewis (suffragette) (1889–1976), British suffragette, member of the militant Women's Social and Political Union
- Anna Sophia Polak (1874–1943), Dutch Jewish feminist and author
- Anna Rankin Riggs (1835–1908), American social reformer
- Anna Stonum (1958–1999), American artist and disability rights activist based in Chicago
- Anna Augusta Truitt (1837–1920), American philanthropist, reformer, essayist
Aristocracy
- Anna of Austria (1528–1590), daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
- Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland (1573–1598), Queen consort of Poland and Sweden, wife of Sigismund III Vasa
- Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (1549–1580), Queen consort of Spain, wife of Philip II
- Anna van Egmont (1533–1558), Dutch noble, first wife of William the Silent
- Anna d'Este (1531–1607), Italian-born French princess
- Anna of Hohenstaufen (1230–1307), Empress of Nicaea
- Anna Khanum (died 1647), Queen consort of Iran, wife of Safi I
- Anna Komnene (1083–1153), daughter of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I and writer of the Alexiad
- Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Austria (1616–1676), Italian noble, Austrian royal consort
- Anna Palaiologina (died 1320), Byzantine princess
- Anna Pavlovna of Russia (1795–1865), Queen consort of the Netherlands, wife of William II
- Anna Porphyrogenita (963–1011), Grand Princess consort of Kiev
- Anna of Russia (1693–1740), Empress of Russia
- Anna of Savoy (1306–1365), Byzantine Empress consort
- Anna of Saxony (1544–1577), German noble, second wife of William the Silent
- Anna of Trebizond (died 1342), Empress of Trebizond
- Anna of Tyrol (1585–1618), Holy Roman Empress
Arts and entertainment
- Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966), Russian poet
- Anna Bergendahl (born 1991), Swedish singer
- Anna Blackwell (1816–1900), English writer
- Anna Blaman (1905–1960), Dutch writer and poet
- Anna Bochkoltz (1815–1879), German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer
- Anna Borg (1903–1963), Danish-Icelandic actress
- Anna Louisa Geertruida Bosboom-Toussaint (1812–1886), Dutch novelist
- Anna Mae Bullock (1938–2023), American singer, better known as Tina Turner
- Anna Camp (born 1982), American actress and singer
- Anna Cathcart (born 2003), Canadian actress
- Anna Chatterton, Canadian playwright
- Anna Chell (born 1998), English actress
- Anna Chlumsky (born 1980), American actress
- Anna Ciddor (born 1957), Australian author and illustrator
- Anna Peyre Dinnies (1805–1886), American writer
- Anna Bowman Dodd (1858–1929), American writer
- Anna Dodsworth (c. 1740–1801), British romantic poet
- Anna Drijver (born 1983), Dutch actress and model
- Anna Enquist (born 1945), Dutch poet and novelist
- Anna Eriksson, (born 1977) Finnish singer
- Anna Faris, (born 1976) American actress
- Anna Friel, (born 1976), English actress
- Anna Gunn (born 1968), American actress
- Anna Haava (1864–1957), Estonian poet
- Anna Hopkins (born 1987), Canadian actress
- Anna Hutchison (born 1986) is a New Zealand actress and producer.
- Anna Indermaur (1894–1980), Swiss artist
- Anna Iriyama (born 1995), Japanese idol singer (AKB48)
- Anna Karen (1936–2022), South African-born British actress
- Anna Kendrick (born 1985), American film and stage actress
- Anna Magnani (1908–1973), Italian actress
- Anna Mantzourani (1935-1991) Greek actress
- Anna Margaret Collins (born 1996), American singer-songwriter and actress
- Anna Massey (1937–2011), English actress
- Anna McGahan (born 1988), Australian actress
- Anna McGarrigle (born 1944), Canadian singer
- Anna Murashige (born 1998), Japanese idol singer (HKT48, NMB48)
- Anna Nagase (born 2005), Japanese voice actress
- Anna Nagata (born 1982), Japanese actress
- Anna Navarro (1933–2006), American film and television actress
- Anna Neethling-Pohl (1906–1992), South African actress, performer and film producer
- Anna Netrebko Russian Austrian operatic soprano
- Anna-Stina Nilstoft (1928–2017), Swedish artist
- Anna de Noailles (1876–1933), Romanian-French writer
- Anna Notaras (died 1507), Byzantine writer
- Anna Campbell Palmer (1854-1928), American author, editor
- Anna Panayiotopoulou (born 1947), Greek actress
- Anna Paquin (born 1982), Canadian-born New Zealand actress
- Anna Passey (born 1984), English actress
- Anna Pavlova (1881–1931), prima ballerina
- Anna Quayle (1932–2019), English actress
- Anna Rezan (born 1992), Greek actress
- Anna Rutgers van der Loeff (1910–1990), Dutch writer of children's novels
- Anna Ruysch (1666–1741), Dutch flower painter
- Anna T. Sadlier (1854-1932), Canadian writer, translator
- Anna van Schurman (1607–1678), Dutch painter, engraver, poet, and scholar
- Anna Sedokova (born 1982), Ukrainian singer, actress and television presenter
- Anna Seghers (1900–1983), German writer
- Anna Semenovich (born 1980), Russian singer, actress, model, and former ice dancer
- Anna Shulgina (born 1993), Russian film and stage actress, singer and TV presenter
- Anna Sueangam-iam (born 1998), Thai actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder
- Anna Teichmüller (1861–1940), German composer
- Anna Thynn, Marchioness of Bath (1943–2022), Hungarian actress and British noblewoman by marriage
- Anna Tonelli (c.1763–1846), Italian portrait painter in the late 17th century and early 18th century
- Anna Torma (born 1952), Hungarian-Canadian fibre artist
- Anna Tsygankova (born 1979), Russian ballet dancer
- Anna Visscher (1584–1651), Dutch artist, poet, and translator
- Anna Vissi (born 1957), Greek-Cypriot singer
- Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston (1812–1899), American writer
- Anna Wise (born 1991), American singer
- Anna Woltz (born 1981), Dutch writer
- Anna Zak (born 2001), Israeli singer
Journalism
- Anna Cabana (born 1979), French journalist
- Anna Dániel (1908–2003), Hungarian journalist
- Anna Shechtman (born 1990/1991), American journalist and crossword compiler
- Anna Wintour (born 1949) British-American fashion journalist and editor-in-chief of the magazine Vogue
Law and politics
- Anna Aalto (1920–1994), Finnish physician and politician
- Anna Benaki-Psarouda (born 1934), Greek politician
- Anna Caballero (born 1955), American politician
- Anna Chernenko (1913–2010), First Lady of the Soviet Union
- Anna Diamantopoulou (born 1959), Greek politician
- Anna-Maria Galojan (born 1982), Estonian politician, model, and fugitive
- Anna Kostanyan (born 1987), Armenian politician
- Anna McMorrin (born 1971), British politician
- Anna Seile (1939–2019), Latvian politician
- Anna Soubry (born 1956), British politician
- Anna Stavitskaya (born 1972), Russian lawyer
- Anna Turley (born 1978), British politician
- Anna de Waal (1906–1981), Dutch politician, Secretary of Education
Sportspeople
- Anna Beck (born 1979), Swedish para-cyclist
- Anna Blässe (born 1987), German footballer
- Anna Blinkova (born 1998), Russian tennis player
- Anna van der Breggen (born 1990), Dutch racing cyclist
- Anna Chakvetadze (born 1987), Russian tennis player
- Anna Gerasimou (born 1987), Greek tennis player
- Anna Haak (born 1996), Swedish volleyball player
- Anna Korakaki (born 1996), Greek shooter
- Anna Kournikova (born 1981), Russian tennis player
- Anna Lapushchenkova (born 1986), Russian tennis player
- Anna Lazareva (born 1997), Russian volleyball player
- Anna Makurat (born 2000), Polish basketball player
- Anna Menconi (born 1971), Italian Paralympic archer
- Anna Nordqvist (born 1987), Swedish golfer
- Anna Ntountounaki (born 1995), Greek swimmer
- Anna Patten (born 1999), English footballer
- Anna Pezzetta (born 2007), Italian figure skater
- Anna Polak (1906–1943), Dutch Jewish gymnast
- Anna Pollatou (1983–2014), Greek rhythmic gymnast
- Anna Karolína Schmiedlová (born 1994), Slovak tennis player
- Anna Shcherbakova (born 2004), Russian figure skater
- Anna Segal (born 1986), Australian Olympic freestyle skier, twice world champion
- Anna Smashnova (born 1976), Belarus-born Israeli tennis player
- Anna Spyridopoulou (born 1988), Greek basketball player
- Anna Tatishvili (born 1990), Georgian tennis player
- Anna van der Vegt (1903–1983), Dutch gymnast
- Anna Verouli (born 1956), Greek javelin thrower
- Anna Villani (born 1966), Italian marathon runner
- Anna Wood (kayaker) (born 1966), Dutch-born Australian sprint canoeist
Misc
- Anna, prophetess mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 2:36
- Anna Ahlström (1863–1943), Swedish teacher, principal, and school founder
- Anna Anderson (1896–1984), Romanov impostor who claimed she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia
- Anna Fisher Beiler (1848–1904), British-born American missionary, newspaper editor
- Anna Farquhar Bergengren (1865–1???), American writer, editor
- Anna Bijns (1493–1575), Flemish writer, schoolteacher and nun
- Anna Linnikova (born 2000), Russian model and beauty pageant titleholder
- Anna Ewers, (born 1993), German fashion model
- Anna Gurney (1795–1857), English scholar, philanthropist, geologist and a member of the Gurney family of Norfolk
- Anna Roosevelt Halsted (1906–1975), only daughter of president Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Anna Harrison (1775–1864), wife of president William Henry Harrison
- Anna Morris Holstein (1824–1901), American organizational founder, civil war nurse, author
- Anna McGurk (1968–1991), British murder victim
- Anna Mons (1672–1714), Dutch commoner who almost succeeded in marrying Tsar Peter the Great
- Anna Nanousi, Greek fashion model and television presenter
- Anna Augusta Von Helmholtz-Phelan (1880–1964), American professor, author
- Anna Hall Roosevelt (1863–1892), mother of Eleanor Roosevelt
- Anna Peck Sill (1816–1889), American educator
- Anna Skarbek (born 1976), Australian businesswoman and former investment banker
- Anna Synodinou (1927–2016), Greek actress and politician
- Anna Tuschinski (1841–1939), Esperantist from Danzig
- Anna Vignoles, British educationalist
- Ann Wilkins (1806–1857), American missionary teacher
- as a masculine name
- Anna of East Anglia (died 653 or 654), king of East Anglia
Fictional use
- Anna, the sister of Dido, Queen of Carthage, in Roman mythology and later literature
- Anna, an alternate name for Morgause of Arthurian legend
- Anna Blake, a character from the Scooby-Doo video-games Scooby-Doo! First Frights and Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp
- Anna Delaney, a character in the Netflix series Grand Army
- Anna De Souza, a character in ITV soap opera Emmerdale
- Anna Lightwood, a protagonist from the upcoming series The Last Hours, part of The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
- Anna Karenina, a main character in a novel written by Leo Tolstoy of the same name
- Anna Kyoyama, a character from Shaman King
- Anna Kakuzawa, a character in the Elfen Leid manga series
- Anna Marks, a character in the film He's Just Not That Into You
- Anna Marvin, a character in the 1991 American comedy movie What About Bob?
- Anna Perenna, the sister of Dido in Roman mythology and later literature
- Anna, Princess of Arendelle and the protagonist of Disney's movie Frozen
- Anna Schmidt, a character in Mind Your Language
- Anna Valerious, a character in the 2004 film Van Helsing
- Anna Williams, a character in the Tekken video game series
- Anna Windass, a character in ITV soap opera Coronation Street
- A character in the animated series Space Carrier Blue Noah
- A character in Mister God, This Is Anna by Fynn
- The main character in When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
- Anna or Ti'ana, a character in the Myst games
- Anna Elizabeth "Rag" Shaw, the protagonist in Light of My Life
See also
- Ana (given name)
- Anna (disambiguation)
- Annie (disambiguation)
- Annette (disambiguation)
- Hannah (given name)
Notes
- ^ "Virgil, Aeneid Book 4, lines 31-52". Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Lie, Kwang-Sook (1996). "Foreign First Names in Korea" (PDF). The SNU Journal of Education Research. 06: 51–59.
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