Anice
Feminine
Anise and star anise are not related. One is a small umbellifer of the Mediterranean, a cousin of parsley and carrot; the other is the dried fruit of a tree in southern China. They taste almost identical because both happen to produce the same compound, which is one of the odder coincidences in the kitchen.
How old is the name Anice?
Anice first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Anice alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 300 people named Anice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anice most popular?
Anice peaked in 1887, reaching #860 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Where it comes from
From medieval English wears Agnes down to Annis to Anice
The story of Anice
The shared compound is called anethole, and it turns up in aniseed, star anise, fennel and tarragon — four plants from three unrelated families, all producing the same flavor by different routes. That is why a cook can substitute one for another and why the drinks of half the Mediterranean taste the same: ouzo, pastis, raki, sambuca and absinthe are all built on it. Star anise is also the industrial source of a compound used to make an antiviral drug, which for a while in the 2000s made a spice tree a strategic commodity.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name is likelier to be a form of Annis, which is what medieval English speech did to Agnes, than to be the spice. Both routes were open to an American family in the 1880s and the record does not choose. The spice word came into English from Greek through Latin and French, and it has been used for both plants since Europeans first met the Chinese one.
How the name formed
- medieval English wears Agnes down to Annis
- a Mediterranean seed and a Chinese fruit share a flavor
- both are called anise in English
- Anice appears in the American record in the 1880s
- peaks before 1890 and fades
Related forms: Annis · Agnes
Pronouncing Anice
AN-iss
Two syllables, stress at the front, exactly like the spice. Some families say uh-NEECE, which the spelling permits and which sounds French.
Nicknames for Anice
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
- 1885
- Most girls named
- 192030 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #860reached in 1887
- Change vs 2003
- 0.0%6 in 2009, from 6
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.
Anice in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Annis in English — related form
- Agnes in English — related form
Anices among us
people named Anice are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Anice sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, soft and read correctly at sight once the stress is settled.
- Ann is available inside it and needs no explanation anywhere.
- It is genuinely unrepeated — nobody now gives it.
- It shares its spelling with a spice, and that is the first association most people will have.
- The stress placement is genuinely unsettled between two readings.
- It belongs to the oldest layer of the American record.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Anice 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 Anice? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Anice
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Anices are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Anice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anice in 2025?
- Anice is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Anice with classmates?
- Anice will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anna#107 · Ashley#164 · Amanda#493 · Amy#257 · Angela#408 · Alice#65 · Ann#1076 · Andrea#235
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anice? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anice 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. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle