Ana

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Girl · Hebrew

Ana

Say it: AH-nah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From Hebrew Hannah 'grace, favour'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Its wave through time

Most used in the 1990s

In the United States

105,037 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1991, about 1 in 707 girls
1,221 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Mexican Central American Andean Argentine Caribbean Spanish Brazilian

The family of the name

Other spellings: Anita

Portuguese	Ana
Italian	Anna
French	Anne

Famous bearers

Anita Garibaldi, Brazilian-born revolutionary

Names worth a look

CeciliaGirlLatin, feminine of the Roman family name Caecilius, traditionally derived from caecus 'blind'.Rome · peak 1904

GuadalupeGirl or boyFrom the Virgin of Guadalupe in Extremadura, named after a river. The first part is Arabic wādī 'river'; the second…Renaissance · peak 1997

IsabelGirlA medieval Occitan and Spanish form of Elisabeth, from Hebrew Elisheva 'my God is an oath'.Middle Ages · peak 2003

CarmenGirlFrom Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Hebrew karmel 'garden, orchard'); the form was influenced…Colonial · peak 1968

LuciaGirlFeminine of Lucius, which Roman writers linked to lux 'light'.Rome · peak 2019

MercedesGirlSpanish 'mercies', from Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, Our Lady of Mercy, patron of the Mercedarian order that…Colonial · peak 1993

AnthonyBoyFrom the Roman family name Antonius, of unknown origin. The 'h' in English comes from a false link with Greek anthos…Rome · peak 1987

AndrewBoyGreek Andreas, from anēr (andros) 'man'; andreia means 'manliness, courage'.Biblical · peak 1987

Where this comes from

The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
Parish baptism registers
National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.