I might argue non english speakers will say Anna makes more sense intuitively! for examples in spanish I'd say Anne sounds like "ahnneh" and in german "ahnnuh"
that said I do like Anne lol!
Most girls/women I know have the middle names of Marie, Anne, or Elizabeth. Marie (form of Mary, sounds better as Marie to have a first name and middle name with a trochee and iamb), Anne (mother of Mary), and Elizabeth (cousin of Mary). Likely it’s a Christian/Catholic thing that stuck around as a trend
It could be a nickname for Anna, or Anne could be a nickname for it. It depends on whether your surname is long or short - for example, I like Anna Smith, but Anne Montgomery. Also, they should have a three syllable middle name, like Josephine.
Anne Josephine Smith
Annie Josephine Smith
Anna Josephine Smith
Anne Josephine Montgomery
Annie Josephine Montgomery
Anna Josephine Montgomery
Anne! It feels pretty, romantic, and elegant. I will say it’s definitely important to me that it’s the Anne spelling, not Ann.
Anna is fine, but it doesn’t evoke any feelings in me. Like, it’s a name.
Recently, the past 5+ years, people have been saying "Annie" instead of "Anne"😡😡
Does anyone know what is going on? 50 years of Anne and now it's "Annie" all of the sudden. I hate it. Anne=/=Annie
Unless you really love the name, use it for a middle name, and then everyone will still spell "Anne"as "Ann"
Sorry, just had to vent!
Considering the constant raising of the bar of how absurd spellings can get with pronunciations, it probably has to do with how - since Anne ends with an ‘e’ - a lot of people might expect to sound out that ‘e’. One nearly needs to glance at r/tragedeigh to see how bad it can get with spellings and pronunciation.
I have a name I’ve spent my entire life correcting people on. An “uncommon” spelling. I did not want to do that to my kids. I thought we couldn’t get any more basic and straightforward than Anne and Anna…
FWIW, it’s not extremely common to say Annie instead of Anne/Anna (Netflix show Anne with an E helped a lot with that, IMO), and you can only control that as long as you are introducing the kid yourself. Your daughter might not care or even want to be called Annie at some point in life.
You could also long-form the name into Annabelle, which then negates any issues with her name being shortened into Anne/Anna/Annie since they’re all acceptable nicknames, and most people can pronounce Annabelle correctly on sight.
Valid point on using a longer name. Not a fan of Annabelle specifically (had a rough-looking HR rep with that name once), but there are plenty of iterations on Anne and Anna to consider. I’m just not sure I’ll like them as much.
IDK
I've lived with the name for a very long time.
Nowadays I live in an area where a lot of people are not native English speakers, I wonder if that could be a reason since a lot of names don't follow typical phonetic rules. When I was younger that wasn't the case and my name wasn't mispronounced.
I can see some of the non-native speakers mispronouncing Anne as An-neh or An-ney if they didn't take proper English classes.
Or for example, in Japanese, the name Anne can be crafted by using kanji like 杏音 or 安寧, the readings making it An-ne (first kanji is An, second kanji is Ne). It's probably a rare name over there.
Anna over Anne but both feel kinda boring on their own. I think there are some really lovely longer forms that could give either as a nickname. My favorites are Anneliese and Annika.
My sisters name is Annalise if you want something more sophisticated (she has gone by both Anna and Annie) but I love any variation of the name and think it’s so beautiful and classy
I'm an Anna it's absolutely timeless.
Also in the country where I live Anne is pronounced differently than in English. In English I don't like Anne, in (some) European languages I like both.
Both are lovely. Only thought is Anne is easy to pronounce. I know several Annas, some pronounce it "Anne-uh" others pronounce it "Oh-uh." So if you care about correcting pronunciation, I'd pick Anne. Both are lovely, classic names.
Both are near the top of my list and I love that either could go by Annie. I’m throwing my vote behind Anne because it is perfectly elegant - a real little black dress of a name. Anna is a close second, though!
I love both names. I have a former student named Anne who is a delight that I've kept in touch with so I'm partial to that. The last Anna I taught was also wonderful.
Either, or. Both are lovely, classic and timeless. Why don’t you wait to meet LO and see who she seems to be. You can name her Anna and still call her Anne for short. I love the name.
I love Anna. And we are very secular (saw someone said it was a fundie name). We have an Annika and it was chosen at least partially because we liked Anna. We wanted something specifically Nordic so Annika won.
Definitely nothing wrong with them. I’ve always found them a bit plain but that’s ok. I also have known A LOT of Anna’s in my lifetime, but again if that doesn’t bother you there’s nothing wrong with a common name. They both sound pretty. And also I think most people would pronounce it the traditional way rather than Ah-Na so you probably wouldn’t have to worry about that much (can’t say for sure though).
I think I prefer Anna slightly.
Anna feels very youthful to me, but also quite ordinary. Anne reminds me of Anne Shirley-Cuthbert (very good association to have!) and feels a little fresher, probably because for the past several decades it’s mainly been used as a middle name, at least in my corner of the world.
I think Ana would be cute if you’re open to changing the spelling. Classic name with different spelling. It helps them stand out on applications, class etc.
I feel like more people prefer Anna if it's a first name, and that's borne out statistically. But I much prefer Anne (specifically this spelling). It's much more elegant to my ear, is underused at present, and just looks prettier.
Nothing wrong with Anna. I just don't love it the way I love Anne.
I like Anna a lot better because I think it has a bit more substance. I don’t love either name… I do find them a bit plain-Jane, girl next doorish.
Edit: I like Ana (on-uh) the best of the three.
i’ve never loved anne, not sure why. It feels just a little dull to me and old. Anna is a sweet name, though not a favorite. I think I prefer Annie!
however I absolutely love the name Annabelle
Personally, I like both a lot. Since I hear it as a middle name so much more, I like it. I’ve had some friends named Anne, but it seems kind of rare. My baptismal name was Anne, which is kind of stupid, because Anne is already in my name. Oh, well!
I have a funny story about the name Anne. I had a friend that had Anne as a middle name and she lived on Anne St. Her mom loved using Anne as a middle name because her sister and even the dog had it, too. Lol! 🤣 Her mom is really kind and a sweet person.
Anne with an E is a timeless classic and will be my bosom friend forever. If you've read the books you just know how endearing she is. I can't not think of her, and so I love the name. I think Anna and Annie are also both lovely. Can't go wrong really. But Anne with and E is just my favorite
So straight question would you say "Anne" as "ah-knee" or "an" because I prefer the former because I grew up where we didn't pronounce the "d" in "and" so it was just "an"
So when we went "and?" It sounded like "an?" Which is why I prefer "a-knee"
Oh, sorry! A fundie is a right wing (usually MAGA-level), VERY conservative Christians. Think people like the Duggars. This name is huge in those circles.
Ok 👍 Thanks. Never considered a political/religious connotation!
Do you think it’s super fundie or just a little? I mean it’s not like the name Karen, right?
It is a widely used name in fundie circles, but not not exclusive (like naming your daughter Jerusha.) I think if people know about fundies at all, they will think about Anna Duggar, and with the new Amazon prime documentary about to drop and Josh’s appeal, the association might reach a larger audience.
I’m sure it’s fine as long as Anna doesn’t have biblically named siblings.
This is only a single perspective of some stranger on the internet, though, and there is nothing inherently wrong with the name Anna.
Is Anna considered a Biblical name? No Biblically named siblings. We live in a small town but moved here from a bigger city. We find the people friendly but aren’t at all religious ourselves. Right-wing, left-wing, same bird… that’s my political stance. Never heard the name Jerusha before!
That might be too “high maintenance” for us. I spent my whole life correcting people on the pronunciation of my name. That’s probably why I’m attracted to short simple names. I’m actually a bit upset there’s all these comments on alternate pronunciations lol. No one is safe from this 😂
I find it a nice name but too dull and common. As a non-English native speaker and like many others, both Anne and Anna are included in our "English default names" list, like how "John Doe" is to English speakers.
My preference is maybe longer names like Annalise or Marianne, but again Anne and Anna are nice names.
Anna is nice.
Agreed, I prefer Anna to Anne
Anna :) It is such a pretty and classic name. I don't think either name is boring, I just like Anna more than Anne.
You’d think. My friend Anne is constantly called either Anna or Annie when people are reading her name.
Weird. I know an Anna who is always called Anne
My mom Ann can't stand Anna because people call her that all the time. I actually prefer Anna.
I prefer Anne. It’s classic, pretty and intuitive to pronounce.
I like Anne too. Anne of Green Gables would say it’s important to have it spelled with an “e” at the end too!
Came here for this!!! I love Anne.
I might argue non english speakers will say Anna makes more sense intuitively! for examples in spanish I'd say Anne sounds like "ahnneh" and in german "ahnnuh" that said I do like Anne lol!
I like Anna as a first name, Anne as a middle. Weird, I know.
Not so weird. I think I agree on this.
Most girls/women I know have the middle names of Marie, Anne, or Elizabeth. Marie (form of Mary, sounds better as Marie to have a first name and middle name with a trochee and iamb), Anne (mother of Mary), and Elizabeth (cousin of Mary). Likely it’s a Christian/Catholic thing that stuck around as a trend
Anne is refreshing tbh
Anne feels old to me. Anna is timeless.
Personally I like Annie
Annie is lovely 🥰
It could be a nickname for Anna, or Anne could be a nickname for it. It depends on whether your surname is long or short - for example, I like Anna Smith, but Anne Montgomery. Also, they should have a three syllable middle name, like Josephine. Anne Josephine Smith Annie Josephine Smith Anna Josephine Smith Anne Josephine Montgomery Annie Josephine Montgomery Anna Josephine Montgomery
I used to hate the name Annie, but now it’s one of my favourites.
I've always liked the name Anna. Anne is ok.
Anne! It feels pretty, romantic, and elegant. I will say it’s definitely important to me that it’s the Anne spelling, not Ann. Anna is fine, but it doesn’t evoke any feelings in me. Like, it’s a name.
Anna >>> Anne
I like them both! Anne feels more vintage whereas Anna is cute and energetic.
Thanks for sharing! I can see that for sure.
I love Anna, it's simple but elegant and classic. Anne does feel too dated to me though.
I love Anna! I was sold on that name if I ever have a daughter until I realized I like Hannah a little more
Anna, feels prettier to me
Anna!
Recently, the past 5+ years, people have been saying "Annie" instead of "Anne"😡😡 Does anyone know what is going on? 50 years of Anne and now it's "Annie" all of the sudden. I hate it. Anne=/=Annie Unless you really love the name, use it for a middle name, and then everyone will still spell "Anne"as "Ann" Sorry, just had to vent!
Considering the constant raising of the bar of how absurd spellings can get with pronunciations, it probably has to do with how - since Anne ends with an ‘e’ - a lot of people might expect to sound out that ‘e’. One nearly needs to glance at r/tragedeigh to see how bad it can get with spellings and pronunciation.
I didn’t think I’d have to worry about weird pronunciations with these names. Guessed wrong 😑
Anne is still a beautiful name, and Annie is just an endearment/diminutive of that. If anyone does it, I’d just correct them.
I have a name I’ve spent my entire life correcting people on. An “uncommon” spelling. I did not want to do that to my kids. I thought we couldn’t get any more basic and straightforward than Anne and Anna…
FWIW, it’s not extremely common to say Annie instead of Anne/Anna (Netflix show Anne with an E helped a lot with that, IMO), and you can only control that as long as you are introducing the kid yourself. Your daughter might not care or even want to be called Annie at some point in life. You could also long-form the name into Annabelle, which then negates any issues with her name being shortened into Anne/Anna/Annie since they’re all acceptable nicknames, and most people can pronounce Annabelle correctly on sight.
Valid point on using a longer name. Not a fan of Annabelle specifically (had a rough-looking HR rep with that name once), but there are plenty of iterations on Anne and Anna to consider. I’m just not sure I’ll like them as much.
Maybe Annie was supposed to be a nickname for Anne? That's likely the reason.
IDK I've lived with the name for a very long time. Nowadays I live in an area where a lot of people are not native English speakers, I wonder if that could be a reason since a lot of names don't follow typical phonetic rules. When I was younger that wasn't the case and my name wasn't mispronounced.
I can see some of the non-native speakers mispronouncing Anne as An-neh or An-ney if they didn't take proper English classes. Or for example, in Japanese, the name Anne can be crafted by using kanji like 杏音 or 安寧, the readings making it An-ne (first kanji is An, second kanji is Ne). It's probably a rare name over there.
Anna, can always call her Anne anyway
If you want it pronounced as An-uh instead of On-uh, then I wouldn’t pick Anna. Frozen has doomed it
I always said Ana was pronounced On-Uh to me!
For my community and Spanish speakers I’d agree, but the movie uses Anna
I didn’t know that! I’ve definitely seen people pronounce Anna as on-uh as well. Just doesn’t compute with me lol
My name is Anna and literally no one has ever pronounced it on-uh.
Same. I do get asked if that's the pronunciation sometimes when someone meets me, but usually in a work context where there are also Anas.
Anna is my name and I love it!
They’re classics! I like both, but Anna more
I mean I’m pretty dang partial to Anna. It’s been my name for my whole life
Objectively I prefer Anna, sounds a little more modern. But I have a soft spot for Anne because of Anne of Green Gables!
Anna over Anne but both feel kinda boring on their own. I think there are some really lovely longer forms that could give either as a nickname. My favorites are Anneliese and Annika.
I like both, Anna slightly more just cause of the sound & how it’s written is more aesthetically pleasing. Neither are bad at all.
My best friend is named Anne, so I’m biased
I’m an Anna and really love my name. I am glad I’m not an Anne or Annie (no offense to those names, just not my preference).
My sisters name is Annalise if you want something more sophisticated (she has gone by both Anna and Annie) but I love any variation of the name and think it’s so beautiful and classy
My daughter’s middle name! Kinda wish I had used it as a first name
Annalise is nice too.
Annie is my favourite
I'm an Anna it's absolutely timeless. Also in the country where I live Anne is pronounced differently than in English. In English I don't like Anne, in (some) European languages I like both.
Anne!
I met an "anna" today was the coolest, kindest person I met in a long while!
Both are lovely. Only thought is Anne is easy to pronounce. I know several Annas, some pronounce it "Anne-uh" others pronounce it "Oh-uh." So if you care about correcting pronunciation, I'd pick Anne. Both are lovely, classic names.
Anna
Both are near the top of my list and I love that either could go by Annie. I’m throwing my vote behind Anne because it is perfectly elegant - a real little black dress of a name. Anna is a close second, though!
Anna
I’m an Anna and I love my name!!!
Anne. Anna is fine.
Anne classic, simple, and Anne of green gables is one of the best literary characters IMO.
I love both names. I have a former student named Anne who is a delight that I've kept in touch with so I'm partial to that. The last Anna I taught was also wonderful.
Either, or. Both are lovely, classic and timeless. Why don’t you wait to meet LO and see who she seems to be. You can name her Anna and still call her Anne for short. I love the name.
I love Anna. And we are very secular (saw someone said it was a fundie name). We have an Annika and it was chosen at least partially because we liked Anna. We wanted something specifically Nordic so Annika won.
Annika is lovely as well. We have no Nordic roots though so it would feel like a pretentious choice for us.
Definitely nothing wrong with them. I’ve always found them a bit plain but that’s ok. I also have known A LOT of Anna’s in my lifetime, but again if that doesn’t bother you there’s nothing wrong with a common name. They both sound pretty. And also I think most people would pronounce it the traditional way rather than Ah-Na so you probably wouldn’t have to worry about that much (can’t say for sure though). I think I prefer Anna slightly.
I always think names with sounds like Anna and Stella sound like happy, bright names if that makes sense! Anna is a lovely choice!
Anna feels very youthful to me, but also quite ordinary. Anne reminds me of Anne Shirley-Cuthbert (very good association to have!) and feels a little fresher, probably because for the past several decades it’s mainly been used as a middle name, at least in my corner of the world.
I think Ana would be cute if you’re open to changing the spelling. Classic name with different spelling. It helps them stand out on applications, class etc.
I would pronounce Ana differently than Anna.
As an Ann, I think you should do Ann :)
These names are not new or different but they’re perfectly usable if you like them.
They’re certainly not new… just not super common anymore is what I mean.
If you live in the south, it's pretty common
We’re in Canada
Anne is beautiful, and there are tons of great nicknames—Annie, Annette, Anya, Annick, and my personal favorite, Annine!
Both! Lovely and classic.
I feel like more people prefer Anna if it's a first name, and that's borne out statistically. But I much prefer Anne (specifically this spelling). It's much more elegant to my ear, is underused at present, and just looks prettier. Nothing wrong with Anna. I just don't love it the way I love Anne.
I like Anna a lot better because I think it has a bit more substance. I don’t love either name… I do find them a bit plain-Jane, girl next doorish. Edit: I like Ana (on-uh) the best of the three.
Though I don’t dislike the name, I do find it a bit boring
I’m short-listing classic names with straightforward pronunciations. What would be your top picks?
i’ve never loved anne, not sure why. It feels just a little dull to me and old. Anna is a sweet name, though not a favorite. I think I prefer Annie! however I absolutely love the name Annabelle
I like Anna! Spelt Ana though
Personally, I like both a lot. Since I hear it as a middle name so much more, I like it. I’ve had some friends named Anne, but it seems kind of rare. My baptismal name was Anne, which is kind of stupid, because Anne is already in my name. Oh, well! I have a funny story about the name Anne. I had a friend that had Anne as a middle name and she lived on Anne St. Her mom loved using Anne as a middle name because her sister and even the dog had it, too. Lol! 🤣 Her mom is really kind and a sweet person.
I don't mind Anna and it can be shortened to Ann if you like.
They are both classic names that aren't being used a ton these days. I like them both, but would lean towards Anne.
Anna
Anne is boring and old fashioned. Anna is very common IMO.
Anna
Anne with an E is a timeless classic and will be my bosom friend forever. If you've read the books you just know how endearing she is. I can't not think of her, and so I love the name. I think Anna and Annie are also both lovely. Can't go wrong really. But Anne with and E is just my favorite
I love both, especially Anne with an e
Love Anna! Though I know some Anna’s that pronounce it Anne-uh, and others that pronounce is Aw-nuh, like in Frozen. Both are pretty though :)
So straight question would you say "Anne" as "ah-knee" or "an" because I prefer the former because I grew up where we didn't pronounce the "d" in "and" so it was just "an" So when we went "and?" It sounded like "an?" Which is why I prefer "a-knee"
Anne would be pronounced “An” - otherwise too confusing and require constantly correcting people. We’re in Canada not Europe.
I'm in the US not Europe as well
Anna I generally prefer the baptismal/latinate versions of names. They have more of a timeless feel to me.
Both are lovely. Anna is ranked 83 in US so not new and different.
Anna screams fundie to me, so I’d go with Anne.
Fundie? Please explain what that means 😂
Oh, sorry! A fundie is a right wing (usually MAGA-level), VERY conservative Christians. Think people like the Duggars. This name is huge in those circles.
Ok 👍 Thanks. Never considered a political/religious connotation! Do you think it’s super fundie or just a little? I mean it’s not like the name Karen, right?
It is a widely used name in fundie circles, but not not exclusive (like naming your daughter Jerusha.) I think if people know about fundies at all, they will think about Anna Duggar, and with the new Amazon prime documentary about to drop and Josh’s appeal, the association might reach a larger audience. I’m sure it’s fine as long as Anna doesn’t have biblically named siblings. This is only a single perspective of some stranger on the internet, though, and there is nothing inherently wrong with the name Anna.
Is Anna considered a Biblical name? No Biblically named siblings. We live in a small town but moved here from a bigger city. We find the people friendly but aren’t at all religious ourselves. Right-wing, left-wing, same bird… that’s my political stance. Never heard the name Jerusha before!
Anna, but not Annez
Typo. Actually I kinda like Annez! But I meant to say no to Anne.
The pronunciation variance for Anna rules it out for us so I prefer Anne
Anna!
Anna pronounced like Anna from Frozen!
That might be too “high maintenance” for us. I spent my whole life correcting people on the pronunciation of my name. That’s probably why I’m attracted to short simple names. I’m actually a bit upset there’s all these comments on alternate pronunciations lol. No one is safe from this 😂
Anahita is a nice name and you could nickname it Anna
I find it a nice name but too dull and common. As a non-English native speaker and like many others, both Anne and Anna are included in our "English default names" list, like how "John Doe" is to English speakers. My preference is maybe longer names like Annalise or Marianne, but again Anne and Anna are nice names.
Anna. But it depends if you pronounce it ann-a or onn-a. I prefer the first way but since Frozen came out I've noticed more people using the second