Anne
Masculine · “Grace”
Anne is given to girls far more often — 325,128 girls against 826 boys since 1880. See Anne as a girl 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 first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Anne alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 400 people named Anne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anne most popular?
Anne peaked in 1908, reaching #1217 nationally. See the whole 1908 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
- 1900
- Most boys named
- 198919 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1217reached in 1908
- Change vs 1990
- −50.0%5 in 1995, from 10
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
Annes among us
people named Anne 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
Anne 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, 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.
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What they receive
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Anne
Masculine
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 400 people named Anne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anne in 2025?
- Anne is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Anne with classmates?
- Anne 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 Anne? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anne and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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