Anne
Feminine · “Grace”
Anne is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 325,128 girls against 826 boys since 1880. See Anne as a boy name
Anne is the shortest formal name in English with a silent letter on the end, and the most famous argument about that letter is a child in a novel insisting on being written correctly.
How old is the name Anne?
Anne was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Anne alive today was born around 1951, making them about 74 years old. About 194,000 people named Anne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anne most popular?
Anne peaked in 1915, reaching #52 nationally. Today it ranks #619, 567 places below that high. See the whole 1915 chart.
Where it comes from
From Hannah to Anne
The story of Anne
The orphan in the novel corrects everyone she meets: she will answer to the name only when it is spelled with the e, because the short spelling looks plain to her and the long one looks distinguished. The joke is that the letter is silent and the distinction exists only on paper — and the point, made seriously under the joke, is that a child with nothing else to her name can still have a preference about how she is written down, and that granting it costs nothing. It is one of the few places in literature where a spelling argument is really an argument about being taken seriously.
Meaning
Grace, favor
The name is the Greek and Latin form of Hannah, a Hebrew name about grace or favor. The final e is a French spelling convention and carries nothing of its own.
How the name formed
- Hannah
- Anna
- Anne
Related forms: Anne · Anna · Aine
Pronouncing Anne
ann
One syllable. The final e is silent and the whole name is a single sound.
Nicknames for Anne
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
- 19605,636 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #52reached in 1915
- Change vs 2022
- −9.6%472 in 2025, from 522
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.
Anne in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Anne in French — same name
- Anna in German — related form
- Aine in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Alabama.
Annes among us
people named Anne are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,405 born in 2025 was named Anne
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Anne has held the top-100 across 7 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Anne is headed
Anne 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.
Anne beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anne in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, formal and legible in every European language.
- It works as a first name and as the most-used middle name in English.
- It has never been strange in any century since it arrived.
- Ann and Anna are both standard and hers will be written as one of them.
- It is very plain on its own and often sits better beside a longer first name.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though nearly every bearer in the record is a girl.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Anne
Feminine · #619 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Annes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 194,000 people named Anne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anne in 2025?
- Anne ranks #619 among US girl names in 2025, with 472 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anne?
- About 1 in every 3,405 US girls born in 2025 was named Anne — 472 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anne with classmates?
- Anne will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anne
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amiyah#620 · Marie#617 · Campbell#617 · Keira#621 · Goldie#621 · Selene#621 · Ariya#614 · Ari#614
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anne? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anne and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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