girl's name
Anya
AHN-yuh
- Origin Russian
- Gender Girl
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 34,041
the United States
#375
2025 births
Anya is a girl's name of Russian origin, a diminutive of Anna. Anna descends from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning favor or grace, so the name reaches back through three languages to a single word about being granted something freely.
- Anya is a name of Russian origin.
- Peaked in 2007, when 895 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,038 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1943.
Anya over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 10 |
| 1950s | 34 |
| 1960s | 232 |
| 1970s | 522 |
| 1980s | 1,328 |
| 1990s | 1,495 |
| 2000s | 6,877 |
| 2010s | 6,089 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,974 |
What Anya means
Anya means grace or favor, through Anna from the Hebrew Hannah. The Hebrew root carries the sense of an unearned gift, which is the same idea behind the English word grace.
Where Anya comes from
Anya is the Russian familiar form of Anna, which is the Greek and Latin rendering of the Hebrew Hannah, from a root meaning favor, grace or to be gracious. Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, and her prayer of thanksgiving is the model for the Magnificat. Anna reached Russia through Byzantine Christianity and produced Anya, Anushka and Annushka. The name also arises independently in Hindi and Sanskrit contexts, and in Nigerian Igbo use, which is why it turns up in more traditions than its Russian association suggests.
Anya in use
Anya charts in six of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2007.
How popular is Anya?
In 2025, Anya was given to 821 babies in the United States, ranking #375 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Anya 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 Anya
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Anya also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Anya over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Anya
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.
Anya 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 Anya
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Anya — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Anya
What does the name Anya mean?
Grace or favor, through Anna from the Hebrew Hannah.
Is Anya Russian?
It is the Russian familiar form of Anna, though the name arises independently in several other traditions.
How do you pronounce Anya?
AHN-yuh, with the stress on the first syllable.
How popular is the name Anya?
In 2025, Anya was given to 821 babies in the United States, ranking #375 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Anya a girl's or a boy's name?
Anya is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Anya most popular?
Anya peaked in 2007, when 895 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Anya?
Anya is usually shortened to Ani.
Is Anya a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Anya currently ranks #236 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.