Explore the Family Name Anna
The meaning of Anna
German (mainly Saarland), French (from Alsace and Lorraine, of German origin), Slovak, and Hungarian: from the female personal name Anna, which comes through Latin and Greek from the Biblical Hebrew name Ḥanna meaning literally ‘grace, mercy’, but interpreted as ‘He (God) has favored me (with a child)’. The name is borne in the Bible by the mother of Samuel (1 Samuel 1: 1–28), and there is a tradition (unsupported by Biblical evidence) that it was the name of the mother of the Virgin Mary; this Saint Anne was a popular figure in medieval art and legend.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Anna in the United States?
The surname Anna, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, has seen a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this surname fell by 1.26 percent from 24,529 in 2000 to 24,838 in 2010. However, the count, or number of people with the surname, did increase by nearly 5 percent, from 955 to 1002 during the same period. This suggests that while the surname has become slightly less common relative to other surnames, the actual number of people bearing it has risen. The proportion per 100,000 people also showed a small decrease of 2.86 percent, further indicating a marginal decrease in popularity.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #24,529 | #24,838 | -1.26% |
| Count | 955 | 1,002 | 4.92% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.35 | 0.34 | -2.86% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Anna
In terms of ethnicity, the distribution for the surname Anna saw some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The most significant change was observed among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, which more than doubled from 3.04 to 6.39 percent. Those identifying as Black also saw a considerable increase of 34.11 percent. On the other hand, those reporting two or more races decreased by 56.18 percent. There was a minor increase in those identifying as Hispanic, up 6.07 percent. Individuals identifying as White remained the majority but saw a slight decrease of 3.72 percent, while American Indian and Alaskan Native identities also saw a decrease of 12.73 percent. This information is also based on the Decennial U.S. Census data.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 82.2% | 79.14% | -3.72% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.04% | 6.39% | 110.2% |
| Black | 3.87% | 5.19% | 34.11% |
| Hispanic | 4.61% | 4.89% | 6.07% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 3.77% | 3.29% | -12.73% |
| Two or More Races | 2.51% | 1.1% | -56.18% |