girl's name
Ann
AN
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 488,686
Northern Ireland
#295
2011 births
Ann is a girl's name from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor, and the spelling without the final e. Both spellings are marked stable in our data — unlike Debra and Deborah, where only one survived.
- Ann is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1957, when 9,068 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 14,735 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ann over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,104 |
| 1890s | 4,688 |
| 1900s | 9,959 |
| 1910s | 39,613 |
| 1920s | 49,975 |
| 1930s | 64,311 |
| 1940s | 77,013 |
| 1950s | 87,228 |
| 1960s | 72,291 |
| 1970s | 32,166 |
| 1980s | 15,995 |
| 1990s | 7,897 |
| 2000s | 4,306 |
| 2010s | 2,738 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,341 |
What Ann means
Ann means grace, or favor shown. The Hebrew word describes something freely given rather than earned, so the sense is nearer to a gift than to elegance or poise.
Where Ann comes from
Ann comes through the Latin Anna from the Hebrew Hannah, grace. Hannah in the Book of Samuel prays for a child and is granted Samuel; the name carries that sense of a petition answered. Christian tradition, though not scripture, gives Anne as the name of the Virgin Mary's mother, which spread it across medieval Europe. The e-less Ann is the older English spelling and was standard before the French-influenced Anne overtook it in the eighteenth century. Both then continued in parallel, and the pairing is a useful control: unlike Debra and Deborah, which split sharply, Ann and Anne have declined and settled together.
Ann in use
Ann peaked in the United States in 1957, when 9,068 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable. It now ranks 471st in Ireland on 8 births, 1077th in the United States on 225, 2099th in England and Wales and 6802nd in France, across 488,686 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Anne, the longer spelling, holds 705,611 and is also marked stable — so both forms of this name survived, where Debra and Deborah diverged completely.
How popular is Ann?
In 2025, Ann was given to 225 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Ann is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ann
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ann also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ann over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Ann
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.
Ann 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 Ann
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ann — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ann
What does the name Ann mean?
Grace or favor, from the Hebrew Hannah.
Is it Ann or Anne?
Ann is the older English spelling; Anne took the French final e. Both are marked stable in our data.
Which spelling is more common?
Anne, with 705,611 recorded births against Ann's 487,568.
How popular is Ann?
1077th in the United States and 471st in Ireland.
Is Ann a girl's or a boy's name?
Ann is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ann?
Ann has 1 syllable.
What are the nicknames for Ann?
Ann is usually shortened to Annie and Nan.
Is Ann a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ann currently ranks #471 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.