How popular is the baby name Anna in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Anna.

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Popularity of the baby name Anna


Posts that mention the name Anna

Popular baby names in the Faroe Islands, 2019

Flag of the Faroe Islands
Flag of the Faroe Islands

According to Statistics Faroe Islands, the most popular baby names last year in the Faroe Islands — the North Atlantic archipelago that belongs to Denmark — were Anna and Jónas.

Here are the Faroe Islands’ top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2019:

Girl names

  1. Anna, 9 baby girls
  2. Eva, 7 (two-way tie)
  3. Lea, 7 (two-way tie)
  4. Maria, 6 (three-way tie)
  5. Mia, 6 (three-way tie)
  6. Vón, 6 (three-way tie)
    • Based on an Old Norse word meaning “hope.”
  7. Alda, 5 (three-way tie)
  8. Elsa, 5 (three-way tie)
  9. Olivia, 5 (three-way tie)
  10. Emma, 4 (three-way tie)
  11. Liva, 4 (three-way tie)
  12. Rósa, 4 (three-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Jónas, 9 baby boys
  2. Óðin, 8
  3. Benjamin, 6 (three-way tie)
  4. Magnus, 6 (three-way tie)
  5. Rókur, 6 (three-way tie)
    • Based on an Old Norse name meaning “crow, rook.”
  6. Adrian, 5 (four-way tie)
  7. Baldur, 5 (four-way tie)
  8. Boas, 5 (four-way tie)
  9. Jósef, 5 (four-way tie)
  10. Ari, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  11. Bragi, 4 (eleven-way tie)
    • Based on an Old Norse word meaning “the best, foremost” or “poetry.” Also the Norse god of poetry.
  12. Dávid, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  13. Hugin, 4 (eleven-way tie)
    • Based on an Old Norse word meaning “mind, spirit, thought.”
  14. Jákup, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  15. Jóhan, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  16. Jón, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  17. Markus, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  18. Milan, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  19. Nóa, 4 (eleven-way tie)
  20. Villiam, 4 (eleven-way tie)

Some of the other baby names bestowed in the Faroe Islands in 2019 include…

  • Brima (f) “surf, surge” in Old Norse
  • Døgg (f) “dew”
  • Glóa (f) “to glow, to shine, to glitter”
  • Gylta (f) “young sow”
  • Gylvi (m) “roaring sea, heavy sea”
  • Hjalti (m) “man from Hjaltland
  • Tjálvi (m) “one who encompasses, keeps together”
  • Treysti (m) “trusty”
  • Ýr (f) “yew tree, bow”

P.S. Denmark has a total of two overseas territories: the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Sources: Statistics Faroe Islands (via Reddit), Faroe Islands – Wikipedia, Nordic Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Faroe Islands (public domain)

Popular baby names in Paris, 2019

Flag of France
Flag of France

According to Paris Data, the most popular baby names in Paris, France, in 2019 were Louise and Gabriel.

Here are the city’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Louise, 223 baby girls
  2. Jeanne, 195
  3. Emma, 180 (tie)
  4. Alice, 180 (tie)
  5. Chloé, 177
  6. Alma, 152
  7. Anna, 142
  8. Charlotte, 140
  9. Joséphine, 133 (tie)
  10. Adèle, 133 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Gabriel, 371 baby boys
  2. Adam, 292
  3. Arthur, 282
  4. Raphaël, 272
  5. Louis, 271
  6. Mohamed, 213
  7. Victor, 187
  8. Léon, 181
  9. Paul, 180
  10. Isaac, 174 (tie)
  11. Joseph, 174 (tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Alma, Joséphine and Adèle replaced Rose, Léa, and Inès. (Notably, Joséphine jumped from 30th place — 97 baby girls — all the way into the top 10.)

In the boys’ top 10, Léon and Isaac/Joseph replaced Alexandre and Gaspard.

Finally, here’s a selection of names from elsewhere in the 2019 Paris data (which, like the SSA data, includes all names given to at least five babies per year).

Parisian Girl NamesParisian Boy Names
Apolline (80 girls), Garance (60), Aminata (55), Isaure (40), Castille (37), Ysée (29), Sixtine (17), Athénaïs (15), Prune (14), France (6), Ombeline (6)Octave (79 boys), Balthazar (37), Djibril (30), Aurélien (22), Hippolyte (21), Corentin (10), Matisse (9), Zéphyr (7), Tancrède (7), Enguerrand (6), Kaïss (5)

Source: Liste des prénoms – Paris Data

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Popular baby names in Belgium, 2019

Flag of Belgium
Flag of Belgium

According to data from Statistics Belgium, the country’s most popular baby names in 2019 were Olivia and Arthur.

Here are Belgium’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 651 baby girls
  2. Emma, 563
  3. Mila, 518
  4. Louise, 515
  5. Alice, 407
  6. Lina, 388
  7. Juliette, 378
  8. Anna, 349
  9. Elena, 347
  10. Lucie, 343

Boy Names

  1. Arthur, 610 baby boys
  2. Liam, 575
  3. Louis, 549
  4. Noah, 545
  5. Adam, 504
  6. Jules, 470
  7. Lucas, 451
  8. Victor, 449
  9. Gabriel, 391
  10. Mohamed, 357

In the girls’ top 10, Anna and Lucie replaced Marie and Sofia.

The boys’ top 10 includes the same names, but in a different order.

The #1 names within each of Belgium’s three regions were:

  • Brussels: Nour and Adam
  • Flanders: Olivia and Liam
  • Wallonia: Olivia and Louis

Finally, here are some of the baby names that were given to 5 babies each in Belgium last year.

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Ayliz, Bintou, Cerise, Doja, Elmedina, Fem, Gina, Honorine, Iluna, Jitske, Karlijn, Lilo, Miruna, Nellia, Olga, Puck, Rinad, Sondos, Wissal, ZayaAlperen, Bulut, Chahine, Dastan, Eiden, Furkan, Ghali, Haytham, Ivar, Jarno, Kassim, Lokman, Muaz, Nunzio, Odilon, Pelle, Remco, Sigge, Tidiane, Zias

In 2018, the top names were Emma and Arthur.

Source: First names for boys and girls | Statbel

Image: Adapted from Flag of Belgium (public domain)

Where did the baby name Darina come from in 1948?

The character Anna La Darina from the movie "The Unfinished Dance" (1947).
Anna La Darina from “The Unfinished Dance

In 1948, the baby name Darina first appeared in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1950: 5 baby girls named Darina
  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: 7 baby girls named Darina [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: unlisted

Where did it come from?

My guess is the movie The Unfinished Dance (1947).

The main character was a young girl in ballet school named Meg. She idolized the head of the school, Ariane Bouchet (played by Cyd Charisse), so when she learned that Ariane would not be dancing the lead in the upcoming production of Swan Lake — that the part would instead go to visiting prima ballerina Anna La Darina — she was not pleased. In fact, she set out to sabotage “La Darina.”

But things went too far: while La Darina was dancing a solo sequence on opening night, Meg went for the light switch…but ended up pulling the trap door lever instead. La Darina fell through the stage, injured her spine, and was told that she would never dance again.

By the end of the movie, Meg discovered that she’d been idolizing the wrong person all along. Ariane was revealed to be self-absorbed, whereas La Darina proved to be generous and forgiving.

What are your thoughts on the name Darina?

Sources: The Unfinished Dance (1947) – IMDB, The Unfinished Dance (1947) – TCM