Anas
Masculine · Arabic roots · “friendliness”
Anas comes from an Arabic root that gathers up closeness, good company and being at ease among people. Two quick syllables, four letters, and a continuous record of use since the first Islamic century — it was the name of one of the most-quoted narrators of hadith. It has traveled since then through Turkish, Bosnian, Urdu, Malay and French-speaking families without needing to change much.
How old is the name Anas?
Anas first appears in US birth records in 1978 — 47 years ago. The typical Anas is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,900 people named Anas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anas most popular?
Anas peaked in 2016, reaching #1234 nationally. Today it ranks #1290, 56 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Anas appears on this list:
Works in French families too:
Where it comes from
From ʾ-n-s (Arabic root: closeness, familiarity) to Anas
The story of Anas
Anas (أنس) is Arabic, built on the root ʾ-n-s, the same root behind words for intimacy and good company. It became widespread across the Muslim world through Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who settled in Basra and is among the most prolific narrators of hadith — a bearer known wherever those traditions are read. From Arabic it passed into Turkish as Enes and into Bosnian by the same route, and it is used in Urdu-, Malay- and Indonesian-speaking families. In the United States its wave is recent and tied to newer communities, with its firmest footholds in New York, Minnesota and California; in France it is a settled part of the naming landscape.
Meaning
friendliness, sociability, affectionate companionship
From the Arabic root ʾ-n-s, which also produces uns (intimacy, familiarity) and anīs (close companion).
How the name formed
- ʾ-n-sArabic root: closeness, familiarity
- أنس / Anas
- EnesTurkish, Bosnian
Related forms: أنس · Enes · Enes · انس · Anas · Anis
Pronouncing Anas
AH-nas
Arabic stress falls on the first syllable, both vowels short and flat. Many American speakers say uh-NAHS instead, and families differ on which they use — worth deciding early and saying it the same way every time.
Nicknames for Anas
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
- 1978
- Most boys named
- 2016151 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1234reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- +11.0%151 in 2025, from 136
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.
Anas in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- أنس in Arabic — transliteration
- Enes in Turkish — same name
- Enes in Bosnian — same name
- انس in Urdu — transliteration
- Anas in Indonesian / Malay — same name
- Anis in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Minnesota, California. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Anass among us
people named Anas are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 11,312 born in 2025 was named Anas
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Steffan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Anas's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Steffan climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Steffan's path sketches the road Anas is walking now.
Anas 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Anas is headed
Anas 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.
Anas beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anas in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short and phonetic: four letters, two syllables, nothing silent and nothing doubled.
- An unbroken record of use since the seventh century, anchored by a bearer known across the Islamic world.
- Works in Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian, Urdu, Malay and French without respelling — useful for a family living in more than one language.
- Rare enough in American classrooms that a child is unlikely to share it, while still being a name millions of people worldwide recognize on sight.
- In English print, Anas sits one letter from an anatomical word, and a careless reader — or a schoolmate looking for material — may make that connection. The pronunciation is different, and most children navigate it, but it is worth knowing before you choose.
- Americans unfamiliar with the name often read it as a form of Anna, or as "Anna's", and may assume it is a girl's name. A brief correction usually settles it, but it will be a recurring one.
- Two pronunciations circulate in the US — first-syllable stress and second-syllable stress — so your child may hear it said both ways and will end up choosing which correction to bother with.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Anas to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Anas? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Anas
Masculine · Arabic roots · #1290 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Anass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Anas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anas in 2025?
- Anas ranks #1290 among US boy names in 2025, with 151 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anas?
- About 1 in every 11,312 US boys born in 2025 was named Anas — 151 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anas with classmates?
- Anas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anas
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Yunus#1290 · Amarion#1290 · Maison#1290 · Achilles#1290 · Asiah#1290 · Titan#1290 · Rudra#1287 · Conway#1287
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anas? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anas and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle