MEANING & HISTORY
What does Anna mean?
Anna comes through Greek and Latin from Hebrew Hannah, associated with grace or favour. Biblical and Christian figures named Anna or Anne helped carry it across many languages.
The doubled n reflects one established spelling rather than a second meaning. Anna, Ana and Hannah therefore belong to the same historical family, even when each is registered as a distinct exact form.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Late Latin Anna both directly and via numerous other languages, chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anne the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). As a city in Illinois, named for Anna Davie, wife of one of the initial settlers. Doublet of Ann, Anne, Ana, and Hannah.
A female given name from Latin.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Anna
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Nikki Coseteng
Filipino politician
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Anna Theresa Licaros
Filipino model
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
20
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Anna Theresa Licaros, Nikki Coseteng
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Anna in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Anna
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Ana♀Grace or favour
- Anja♀Grace; favour, through Anna
- Ann♀Grace or favour; form of Anne
- Anne♀Grace; form of Anna and Hannah
- Anya♀Russian Anna form, with other documented naming routes
- Hanna♀Grace; a form of Hannah
- Inna♀Russian and Ukrainian form of an early saint’s name
- Janna♀Jane-family form, associated with divine grace
What rhymes with Anna?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Recorded combinations with Anna
5 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Anna Lissa·Source record
- Anna Liza·Source record
- Anna Louise·Source record
- Anna Marie·Source record
- Ma Anna Priscila·Source record
Explore Anna further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q666578 — Anna (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Anna Theresa Licaros (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q666578 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Nikki Coseteng (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q666578 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Anna (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Anna (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.