Ann
Masculine · “favor”
Ann is given to girls far more often — 470,261 girls against 1,364 boys since 1880. See Ann as a girl name
Ann is three letters and has outlasted almost everything. It is one of the oldest continuously used women's names in English, it has been the standard second element in double names for centuries, and it has been carried by a queen whose reign changed the succession and by a Manchester factory worker who founded a religion in America.
How old is the name Ann?
Ann first appears in US birth records in 1905 — 120 years ago. The typical Ann alive today was born around 1944, making them about 81 years old. About 600 people named Ann are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ann most popular?
Ann peaked in 1910, reaching #928 nationally. See the whole 1910 chart.
Where it comes from
From A Hebrew word about favor, through Greek and Latin to Ann
The story of Ann
The last Stuart sovereign was pregnant at least seventeen times and outlived every child. Some were stillborn, most of the rest died in infancy, and the one who reached eleven died before she came to the throne. By the time she was queen the question of who would succeed her was a matter of legislation rather than of family, and Parliament settled it by statute, skipping over dozens of nearer heirs on religious grounds and handing the crown to a German cousin. Her personal history, which was a private catastrophe repeated across two decades, therefore produced the dynasty that ruled Britain for the next two hundred years.
Meaning
favor, grace
The name descends from a Hebrew word about favor or grace, through Greek and Latin, and the reading is settled. The short English form is the same name as its longer relatives rather than a nickname for them, which is why it has always been registered in its own right rather than as a shortening of anything.
How the name formed
- A Hebrew word about favor, through Greek and Latin
- One of the standard women's names of medieval England
- The default second half of double names
- Ann and Anne in parallel use for centuries
Related forms: Anne · Anna · Áine
Pronouncing Ann
AN
One syllable, with a short flat a. The doubled n is not audible and does not need to be: it marks the name as a name rather than as the beginning of a longer word, which is what final doubling generally does in English.
Nicknames for Ann
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
- 1905
- Most boys named
- 194241 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #928reached in 1910
- Change vs 1988
- 0.0%6 in 2004, 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.
Ann in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Anne in French — same name
- Anna in Italian — related form
- Áine in Irish — related form
Anns among us
people named Ann 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
Ann 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 impossible to mispronounce and takes no explaining anywhere.
- It works as a first name or as the second half of a double name.
- The meaning is a single word and has never been in doubt.
- The spelling with an e is equally standard and will be written half the time.
- It reads as a middle name to many people because it is used as one so often.
- The spelling appears on the register for both sexes in small numbers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ann 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 Ann? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ann
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Anns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Ann are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ann in 2025?
- Ann is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ann with classmates?
- Ann will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anthony#46 · Andrew#73 · Alexander#30 · Aaron#80 · Adam#101 · Arthur#87 · Albert#614 · Austin#113
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ann? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ann 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