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Anna
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "anna"
Translingual
Etymology
Noun
Anna
- (chess) Spoken by a player during a match with one or more visually impaired players to indicate the a-file in algebraic notation.
References
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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.
Proper noun
Anna (plural Annas)
- A female given name from Latin.
- c. 1886 William Ernest Henley, A Ballade of Ladies' Names, Gleeson White:Ballades and Rondeaus, Read Books 1887, page 19:
- Every lover the years disclose / Is of a beautiful name made free. / One befriends, and all others are foes. / Anna's the name of names for me.
- 1967, Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, HarperCollins, published 2014, →ISBN, page 189:
- M for Madeleine, M for Marguerite, M for Melanie and the rest, she thought, smiling as she remembered the long string of glamorous names they had invented for her. No wonder plain "Anna" had seemed a little disappointing!
- 1986, Sue Miller, The Good Mother, G.K.Hall, published 1987, →ISBN, page 183:
- His real name was Leonard, Len. He'd changed it when he came East. "Len," he said. "A turd of a name. Who wants it? I mean a name that ends in a nasalization, for Christ's sake. Leo now. It's like Anna. They go on forever. You can live with a name like that."
- 2018 April 23, Chuck Johnston, “Judge not allowed back to court after berating woman who died”, in CNN:
- Anna Twiggs bailed her sister out of jail Monday evening. She said she found her sister dead in her bed Wednesday morning.
- c. 1886 William Ernest Henley, A Ballade of Ladies' Names, Gleeson White:Ballades and Rondeaus, Read Books 1887, page 19:
- A prophetess in the New Testament.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 2:36:
- And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
- A city in Illinois.
- A city in Texas.
- A town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia.
- A village in Järva, Estonia.
- A village in Fars Province, Iran.
- A village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran.
- A village in Ohio; after Anna Thirkield, an early settler.
- A municipality of the Valencian Community, Spain.
Usage notes
- The name or its cognates are well used in all European languages because of the medieval cult of St. Anna or Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.
- Anna is periodically popular in the English-speaking world as a Latinate variant of Ann/Anne.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Chinese: 安娜 (Ānnà)
Translations
given name — see Ann
biblical prophetess
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Etymology 2
Proper noun
Anna
Anagrams
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Catalan
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Czech
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (relational adjective Annin)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Declension
Declension of Anna (hard feminine reducible)
Related terms
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Danish
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- Anna (Biblical prophetess)
Related terms
Descendants
- → Greenlandic: Anna
References
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Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch Anna, from Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- Anna (Biblical prophetess)
Related terms
Estonian
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Related terms
Faroese
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ).
Proper noun
Anna f (genitive singular Onnu or Annu)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Usage notes
Matronymics
- son of Anna: Onnuson or Annuson
- daughter of Anna: Onnudóttir or Annudóttir
Declension
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Finnish
Etymology
From Vulgate Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Biblical Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ) in the Old Testament, meaning "grace, gracious".
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- 1870, Aleksis Kivi, Seitsemän veljestä (Seven Brothers): Chapter 14:
- Aviona oli hänellä Seunalan hoikka tytär, liinatukkainen, kainosilmäinen Anna, hän, joka oli nähnyt kummia näköjä ja houraillen ennustellut paljon ihmeitä.
- Richard A. Impola (1991)
- His wife was the slender daughter of Seunala, shy-eyed Anna, who had seen strange visions in trances and predicted many wonders.
- 1984, Eira Stenberg, Paratiisin vangit, Tammi, →ISBN, page 5:
- Minun nimeni on Sisko. Ei se ole ihmisen nimi. Se on nimi suhteelle. Minä olin alusta alkaen sivuhenkilö. [ - - - ] Anna oli sievä ja kiharapäinen kuin kiiltokuvaenkeli. Kun äiti huusi häntä ikkunasta, se kuulosti pyynnöltä, lähes rukoukselta: anna, anna! Amen, minä lisäsin usein mielessäni. Koko piha kaikui annoista. [ - - - ]
- My name is Sisko. That's not how a human is called, that's how a relationship is called. I was a side character from the start. [ - - - ] Anna was pretty with curly hair, like an angel from a kiiltokuva. When her mother called her out of the window, it sounded like a request, almost like a prayer: anna, anna [give]! Amen, I often answered in my mind, as annas echoed throughout the yard.
- 2010, Ilkka Raitasuo - Terhi Siltala, Kellokosken prinsessa, Like Kustannus Oy, →ISBN, page 211:
- Eräänä Annan päivänä 1960-luvulla ylilääkäri Alivirta oli pistäytynyt osastolla toivottamassa kaikille juhlijoille hyvää nimipäivää. Tuolloin Prinsessa oli oikaissut Isä Paavalia ja todennut, että hän oli oikeastaan Anita. Hän piti Annaa hieman rahvaanomaisena ja vanhahtavana etunimenä.
- On one Anna's day in the 1960s, senior physician Alivirta had visited the department to wish everyone a happy name day. The Princess had then corrected Father Paavali himself and stated that she was actually called Anita. She thought of Anna as a rather folksy and old-fashioned name.
- (obsolete) Anna (biblical prophetess)
- 1548, The Holy Bible, Luke 2:36:
- Ja oli Anna Prophetissa Phanuelin Tyter Aserin sughusta teme oli ioutunudh pitkelle ijelle ia oli elenyt miehens cansa seitzemen wootha hene’ Neitzydeste’s
- And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
Usage notes
- Traditionally one of the most popular female names in Finland, for example, the most common first name of women throughout the 19th century.
- Common first part of conjoined names such as Anna-Liisa and Anna-Maija.
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Statistics
- Anna is the 4th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 28,014 female individuals (and as a middle name to 17,458 more), according to August 2025 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.
Anagrams
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French
Etymology
A Latinate variant of French Anne, from Ἄννα (Ánna), equal to the Hebrew female name חַנָּה (ḥannâ) of Old Testament, meaning "grace, gracious". Cognate with English Anna.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Anagrams
German
Etymology
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (genitive Annas or (with an article) Anna)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Related terms
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Greenlandic
Alternative forms
- Ána (old orthography)
Etymology
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name from Danish, equivalent to English Ann
- Anna (biblical)
Related terms
References
- Nuka Møller: Kalaallit aqqi (Greenlandic personal names), Oqaasileriffik 2015, →ISBN
- Danskernes navne 2005, including the residents of Greenland
Hungarian
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Icelandic
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (proper noun, genitive singular Önnu)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Declension
Italian
Etymology
From Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Biblical Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- Hannah (Biblical mother of Samuel)
- Anna (Biblical prophetess)
Related terms
Anagrams
Japanese
Romanization
Anna
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Biblical Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ).
Pronunciation
- Anna:
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈan.na]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈan.na]
- Annā:
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈan.naː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈan.na]
- Hyphenation: An‧na
Proper noun
Anna f sg (genitive Annae); first declension
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Declension
First-declension noun, singular only.
Descendants
- Portuguese: Ana
- ⇒ Dutch: Anna
- ⇒ English: Ann (see there for further descendants)
- → English: Anna
- → Chinese: 安娜 (Ānnà)
- ⇒ Finnish: Anna
- ⇒ French: Anna, Anne (see there for further descendants)
- ⇒ German: Anna, Anne
- ⇒ Italian: Anna
- ⇒ Latvian: Anna
- ⇒ Norwegian: Anna
- Polish: → Anna (learned), → Hanna (learned)
- → Scottish Gaelic: Anna
- ⇒ Serbo-Croatian:
- → Spanish: Ana
- ⇒ Swedish: Anna
- → Welsh: Anna
Latvian
Etymology
First recorded as a given name of Latvians in 1454. From Vulgate Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), equal to the Hebrew female name חַנָּה (ḥannâ) of Old Testament, meaning "grace, gracious". Cognate with English Ann.
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- a transliteration of the Russian female given name А́нна (Ánna)
- a respelling of the English female given name Ann
- a respelling of the English or French female given name Anne
Related terms
References
- Klāvs Siliņš: Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca. Riga "Zinātne" 1990, →ISBN
- Population Register of Latvia: Anna was the only given name of 25 747 persons in Latvia on May 21st 2010.
Norwegian
Etymology
First recorded in Norway in 1340. From Vulgate Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), equal to the Hebrew female name חַנָּה (ḥannâ) of Old Testament, meaning "grace, gracious". Cognate with English Ann.
Proper noun
Anna
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- Anna, the prophetess.
Usage notes
- One of the most popular given names in Norway since the Middle Ages. For example, the most common name of women born in Norway from the 1870s to the 1910s.
Related terms
References
- Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
- Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 17 721 females with the given name Anna living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1880s. Accessed on April 18th, 2011.
Old Czech
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name
Declension
Declension of Anna (hard a-stem reducible)
This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
Further reading
- Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “Anna”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění
Polish
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ). Doublet of Hanna.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (diminutive Andzia or Aneczka or Ania or Anka or Anula or Anusia)
- a female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Ann or Anna
Declension
Declension of Anna
Further reading
- Anna in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name, variant of Ana
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Biblical Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ, literally “grace, gracious”).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (diminutive Annag)
- a female given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to English Ann
Mutation
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Slovak
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f (genitive singular Anny, nominative plural Anny, declension pattern of žena)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- “Anna”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025
Swedish
Etymology
First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1291. Inherited from Old Swedish Anna, from Vulgar Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), equal to the Hebrew female name חַנָּה (ḥannâ) of Old Testament, meaning "grace, gracious". Cognate with English Ann.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna c (genitive Annas)
- a female given name, equivalent to English Ann
- 1994, Marianne Fredriksson, Anna, Hanna och Johanna [Anna, Hanna and Johanna], Wahlström & Widstrand, published 2001, →ISBN, page 259:
- Då mindes jag Anna, den ljusa människan. Och så sa jag utan att ha tänkt att jag ville kalla flickan Anna. Mor blev glad, det såg jag nog, men hon sa att jag måste tala med Arne först.
Han tyckte namnet var gammaldags och rejält. Så var han glad att det inte fanns i släkten.- Then I remembered Ann, that bright person. And so without thinking I said that I wanted to call the girl Ann. Mother was pleased, I could see that, but she said I had to talk to Arne first.
He thought the name was old-fashioned and sturdy. He was glad it wasn't in the family.
- Then I remembered Ann, that bright person. And so without thinking I said that I wanted to call the girl Ann. Mother was pleased, I could see that, but she said I had to talk to Arne first.
Usage notes
- Traditionally one of the most popular Swedish names, for example the most common first name of women born in Sweden in the 1920s, the 1970s and the 1980s.
Related terms
References
- Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
- Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 302 997 females with the given name Anna living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with frequency peaks in the 19th century and in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 June, 2011.
Anagrams
Welsh
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin Anna, from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna), from Biblical Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannâ, literally “grace, gracious”).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Anna f
- a female given name from Ancient Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) [in turn from Hebrew חַנָּה (“Hana”)]
- Wife or mother of Beli Mawr.
- Saint Anne
Derived terms
Mutation
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
Heini Gruffudd (2010), Enwau Cymraeg i Blant / Welsh Names for Children, Y Lolfa, →ISBN, page 17
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