Head to head · Girls' names
Anaya vs Annabelle
#336 vs #343 in 2025
Anaya is a whisker ahead (#336 vs #343 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Anaya is holding its place on the charts, Annabelle is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Anaya and Annabelle each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Anaya —, Annabelle #493 — Annabelle higher
- 1890s: Anaya —, Annabelle #446 — Annabelle higher
- 1900s: Anaya —, Annabelle #375 — Annabelle higher
- 1910s: Anaya —, Annabelle #300 — Annabelle higher
- 1920s: Anaya —, Annabelle #271 — Annabelle higher
- 1930s: Anaya —, Annabelle #401 — Annabelle higher
- 1940s: Anaya —, Annabelle #691 — Annabelle higher
- 1950s: Anaya —, Annabelle #1374 — Annabelle higher
- 1960s: Anaya —, Annabelle #1442 — Annabelle higher
- 1970s: Anaya #8532, Annabelle #1754 — Annabelle higher
- 1980s: Anaya #8857, Annabelle #1940 — Annabelle higher
- 1990s: Anaya #4478, Annabelle #1188 — Annabelle higher
- 2000s: Anaya #569, Annabelle #272 — Annabelle higher
- 2010s: Anaya #438, Annabelle #109 — Annabelle higher
- 2020s: Anaya #390, Annabelle #308 — Annabelle higher
Annabelle stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anaya | Annabelle |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #493 |
| 1890s | — | #446 |
| 1900s | — | #375 |
| 1910s | — | #300 |
| 1920s | — | #271 |
| 1930s | — | #401 |
| 1940s | — | #691 |
| 1950s | — | #1374 |
| 1960s | — | #1442 |
| 1970s | #8532 | #1754 |
| 1980s | #8857 | #1940 |
| 1990s | #4478 | #1188 |
| 2000s | #569 | #272 |
| 2010s | #438 | #109 |
| 2020s | #390 | #308 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Anaya
Not established
No single meaning is established for the modern American name. What is documented: Anaiah is a man's name in the Hebrew Bible, appearing among the leaders in the book of Nehemiah, from a root meaning roughly 'the Lord has answered'; Anaya is a long-standing Spanish surname taken from a village name in the province of Segovia, with Basque connections; and Anaya is used as a girl's given name in India. Popular meaning lists confidently assign it 'caring' or 'without a superior' from Sanskrit, but those readings are not securely traceable.
How it traveled
The clearest documented threads are Spanish and Hebrew. In Spain, Anaya is a place name in Segovia that became a surname carried by notable Castilian families and later spread widely through Latin America, which is one reason the spelling looks entirely at home in Spanish-speaking households.
Annabelle
Either "lovable" or, read as Anna + belle, "grace" plus "beautiful"
Name scholars generally trace Annabel back to Amabel, from Latin amabilis, "lovable." But the name was long ago reinterpreted as a compound of Anna and the French belle, "beautiful" — and the -belle spelling is a product of exactly that rereading. Both readings are genuinely in play; the second is the reason this form of the name exists at all.
Amabilis → Amabel → Annabel → Annabella → Annabelle
How it traveled
The name surfaces in Scotland in the Middle Ages as Annabel or Annabella, a form that circulated among Scottish nobility — Annabella Drummond was queen consort to Robert III of Scotland, and died at the very start of the fifteenth century. From Scotland it spread through England and eventually across the Atlantic, where it has been recorded since American record-keeping began.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Anaya
uh-NY-uh
That is the usual American reading, with the stressed middle syllable rhyming with 'eye'. In Spanish- and Hindi-speaking families it is commonly ah-NAH-yah, with a clear y-sound in the middle. Both are correct for their setting, so it helps to decide early which one you will use.
- Ana — The most obvious short form, and a standalone given name in Spanish, Portuguese and much of Europe.
- Naya — Informal, taken from the back half of the name; also used on its own as a given name in English.
- Ani — Informal, mostly family use.
- Nay — A very short, casual form used by friends and siblings.
Annabelle
AN-uh-bel
Stress on the first syllable. The final -belle sounds the same as the shorter Annabel — the extra letters are silent, which is precisely where the spelling trouble starts.
- Anna — Stands fully on its own as a given name; used both formally and at home.
- Annie — The informal short form, in continuous English use for centuries, and a registered given name in its own right.
- Belle — Takes the second half instead of the first; also independently used as a given name.
- Bella — Widely used as a familiar form, though it belongs more properly to Isabella and Arabella.
- Also Ann, Nell.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Anaya if you want…
- a name on the way upup 47 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalAnaya entered the US charts in 1978
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 74% for Annabelle
Choose Annabelle if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAnnabelle is stepping back from its peak
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Anna, Annie and Belle
- a long American recordAnnabelle was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that feels very nowAnnabelle is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Anaya
Strengths
- Two ready-made short forms already live inside it: Ana, which stands alone across Europe, and Naya, which stands alone in English.
- Only five letters and no silent ones — easy for a young child to write out.
- At home in English, Spanish and Indian families alike, which matters in a household or extended family that speaks more than one language.
To consider
- The two pronunciations — uh-NY-uh and ah-NAH-yah — both have real claim to the name, so expect to correct people, and expect her to choose for herself eventually.
- It sits close to Amaya, Anya, Aniyah, Anaïs and Amara, so mix-ups and mishearings are likely, especially over the phone or on a roll call.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled. Sites that offer a confident Sanskrit translation are guessing, and if a documented meaning matters to you, this name will not give you one.
Annabelle
Strengths
- Everyone can pronounce it on sight, in English and in French, with no coaching required.
- An unusually deep bench of established short forms — Anna, Annie, Belle — each already a real name someone could grow into.
- A documented line running from medieval Scotland to the present, with no gap in use.
To consider
- Three spellings compete: Annabelle, Annabel and Anabelle. Whichever you pick will be written the other ways by other people, more or less permanently.
- The 2014 horror film Annabelle and its sequels attached the name to a possessed doll. It made no dent in the name's use, but it is the first thing an internet search returns, and worth knowing in advance.
- It sits inside a large family of -bella and -belle names, so it may be misheard as Isabella or Arabella, and nicknames can drift toward the generic Bella.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Anaya
40%chance Anaya feels dated by 2040
Anaya sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Annabelle
74%chance Annabelle feels dated by 2040
Annabelle is coming down from a big peak (#57 in 2014). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Anaya and Annabelle in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Anaya and Annabelle?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Anaya and Annabelle — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anaya or Annabelle — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anaya or Annabelle?
- Anaya, in 2025: Anaya ranked #336 with 911 babies; Annabelle ranked #343 with 891 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anaya or Annabelle?
- Anaya. Over the last five years Anaya moved up 47 places; Annabelle moved down 123 places.
- Which is the older name, Anaya or Annabelle?
- Anaya entered the US charts in 1978; Annabelle was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Annabelle is the older name.
- How many people are named Anaya and Annabelle?
- About 18,000 people named Anaya are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 54,000 people named Annabelle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Anayas or Annabelles in the classroom?
- Anaya will almost certainly be the only one in school. Annabelle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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