girl's name
Anaïs
ah-nah-EES
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 154,972
the United States
#892
as Anais, 2025
Anaïs has no settled origin — Occitan, a form of Anne, and a Greek borrowing are all proposed. It peaked in France at 6,560 births in 1993 and now ranks in none of the six markets we track.
- Anaïs is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1993, when 6,565 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,709 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Anaïs over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 2,065 |
| 1910s | 1,055 |
| 1920s | 655 |
| 1930s | 290 |
| 1940s | 95 |
| 1950s | 60 |
| 1960s | 65 |
| 1970s | 830 |
| 1980s | 22,805 |
| 1990s | 52,105 |
| 2000s | 36,035 |
| 2010s | 18,115 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,545 |
What Anaïs means
Anaïs has no securely known meaning. Grace, through Anne, is the reading usually given, but the name's route into French is disputed and no derivation is established.
Where Anaïs comes from
Anaïs is a French name of genuinely unsettled origin. It is most often treated as an Occitan or Provençal form of Anne, from the Hebrew Hannah, grace or favor — but a derivation from Anaitis, the Greek rendering of the Persian goddess Anahita, is also proposed, and the two have nothing in common. The diaeresis on the i is not decoration: it marks the vowel as pronounced separately, so the name is three syllables rather than two. Anaïs Nin's diaries carried the name into English-language awareness.
Anaïs in use
Anaïs peaked in France in 1993, when 6,565 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It no longer ranks in any of the six markets we track, across 154,972 lifetime births. Note that it is a different name from Anas, an Arabic boys' name that also appears in our French data and is currently rising at 91st — the two are unrelated and the resemblance is only in stripped spelling.
How popular is Anaïs?
In 2025, Anaïs was given to 345 babies in France, ranking #156 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Anaïs is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Anaïs is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Anais | Anais is a spelling of Anaïs, used in the United States, where it ranks #892. | 21,282 |
| Anaîs | Anaîs is a rare spelling of Anaïs, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Anaïs
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Anaïs also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Anaïs over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Anaïs
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Anaïs in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Anaïs
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Anaïs — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Anaïs
What does the name Anaïs mean?
Not settled. Grace through Anne is the usual reading, but a Persian goddess is also proposed.
How is Anaïs pronounced?
Three syllables — ah-nah-EES. The diaeresis marks the i as a separate vowel.
Is Anaïs the same as Anas?
No. Anas is an unrelated Arabic boys' name that also appears in French data.
Does Anaïs still rank?
Not in any of the six markets we track, despite a 1993 French peak of 6,560 births.
Is Anaïs a girl's or a boy's name?
Anaïs is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Anaïs most popular?
Anaïs peaked in 1993, when 6,565 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Anaïs?
Anaïs is usually shortened to Ana.
Is Anaïs a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Anaïs currently ranks #156 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.