Ana
Feminine · “Grace”
Ana is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 111,359 girls against 601 boys since 1880. See Ana as a boy name
Ana is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Anna, 'grace', and it has been an American name since records began, steady and widely loved. Two Anas of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries defied kings: a one-eyed Spanish princess and an African queen.
How old is the name Ana?
Ana was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ana alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 106,000 people named Ana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ana most popular?
Ana peaked in 1991, reaching #119 nationally. Today it ranks #245, 126 places below that high. See the whole 1991 chart.
Where it comes from
From Hannah to Ana
The story of Ana
Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Eboli, lost an eye as a girl and wore a patch; she became one of the most powerful figures at the court of Philip II of Spain until, in 1579, he had her arrested over a political intrigue, and she spent the rest of her life confined in her palace at Pastrana. In Angola, Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba negotiated with the Portuguese, was baptized as Ana de Sousa, and then fought them for decades to keep her kingdoms free. Ana is recorded almost entirely for girls.
Meaning
Grace
From Hebrew Hannah, 'grace, favor', through Greek and Latin Anna.
Cultural footprint
Ana de Armas (b. 1988) — Knives Out and Blonde star
Ana Ivanovic (b. 1987) — French Open champion
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Hannah
- Anna
- Ana
Related forms: Ana · Ana · Anna · Hannah
Pronouncing Ana
AH-nuh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some English speakers say AN-uh.
Nicknames for Ana
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19902,614 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #119reached in 1991
- Change vs 2022
- −9.1%1,276 in 2025, from 1,403
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ana in Spanish — same name
- Ana in Portuguese — same name
- Anna in English — same name
- Hannah in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Anas among us
people named Ana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 1,260 born in 2025 was named Ana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Ana
- #245
- Ana on the 2025 chart
- #68
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Ana went to 1,276 girls in 2025, but Anna is the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 3,813, which makes it the 68th most-given girls’ name of the year — 177 places above the chart.
- Anna2,521
- Ana1,276
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 girl in 422 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 1,260 for Ana itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ramona test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ramona climbed just as high around 1928, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ramona's path sketches the road Ana is walking now.
Ana peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ana is headed
Ana should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, simple and used across many languages.
- A settled, lovely meaning.
- A long American history.
- People will write Anna.
- The pronunciation varies between AH-nuh and AN-uh.
- It is common enough that an Ana may share her name at school.
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What they receive
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Ana
Feminine · #245 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Anas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 106,000 people named Ana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Ana?
- Ana is one of 2 recorded spellings. Anna is the more common one — 2,521 births in 2025 against 1,276 for Ana.
- How popular is the name Ana in 2025?
- Ana ranks #245 among US girl names in 2025, with 1,276 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ana?
- About 1 in every 1,260 US girls born in 2025 was named Ana — 1,276 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ana with classmates?
- Ana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Miriam#246 · Diana#244 · Amora#247 · Brynlee#243 · Reagan#248 · Delaney#242 · Collins#241 · Rowan#249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ana and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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