← Back to The Colonial Americas
Girl · Uncertain
Ayanna
Say it: ah-YAH-nah
Meaning
Uncertain. Variously claimed as Swahili, Amharic or Hindi in origin, with none established; probably used in the US as a modern coinage.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 2000s
In the United States
- 15,338 babies given this name since 1971
- At its height in 2003, about 1 in 2,200 girls
- 204 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Ayana
Famous bearers
- Ayanna Pressley, US congresswoman
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Modern use, as a recently created name
- 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.