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The short answer
Ana is a feminine name that Behind the Name describes as a "form of Anna used in various languages", listing Spanish, Portuguese, Slovene, Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Fijian and Tongan among them. Its meaning is therefore the meaning of Anna, which traces to the root ḥanan; the Ana entry itself gives no gloss. Ana is usually said AH-na. In the United States it ranked #245 for girls in 2025. Familiar diminutives include Ani and Anita in Spanish and Portuguese.
Meaning and etymology
Behind the Name gives Ana as a "form of Anna used in various languages" and lists the root as ḥanan. The entry does not repeat Anna's gloss, so no meaning is stated here beyond the link to Anna. The name has its own variants in several languages, including Anália (Portuguese), Anna (Bulgarian), Jana (Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian), Anano (Georgian) and Ona (Lithuanian), and a wide set of diminutives such as Ani and Anita (Spanish, Portuguese), Anica, Anika, Anka and Nuša (Slovene), Anca and Anișoara (Romanian) and Anuki (Georgian). The broader Anna family in English includes Ann, Anne, Hannah, Annie and Nancy.
Editorial confidence: established
Linguistic roots
| Language | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hebrew (per Behind the Name root listing) | ḥanan | root listed by Behind the Name; gloss not given on the Ana entry |
Popularity
Ana ranked #245 for girls in the United States in 2025 (Social Security Administration); Behind the Name records the same rank. The name is in use across Iberian, Balkan, Caucasian, Baltic and Pacific languages, but no rankings outside the United States were checked.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | #245 | ssa-2025 |
Nicknames, variants, and related names
Nicknames: Ani, Anita, Anica, Anika, Anka, Ankica, Anuša, Nuša, Anca, Ancuța, Anișoara, Anuki
Variants: Anália, Anna, Jana, Anano, Ona
Related names: Anne, Ann, Hannah, Annie, Anya, Nancy, Hanna, Channa
What the name feels like
Ana is minimal and international: three letters, two syllables and no consonant clusters, so it travels between languages without adjustment. Next to the fuller Anna it feels a little lighter and more Iberian or Balkan in flavour.
Style tags: classic, international, short, two syllables, Spanish
Editorial interpretation: These style impressions are editorial judgment, not linguistic fact. The diminutives listed come from Behind the Name's per-language lists and are not all in use in English.
If you like this name
Other forms of Anna, and equally short names that cross languages easily.
Similar by origin
Similar by style
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Ana mean?
Ana is a form of Anna used in many languages, according to Behind the Name, which lists the root as ḥanan. The Ana entry does not give a separate gloss, so its meaning is that of Anna.
Is Ana a popular name?
Ana ranked #245 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.
What is the difference between Ana and Anna?
Ana is the spelling used in Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Georgian and several other languages; Anna is the form used in English, Italian, German and elsewhere. Behind the Name treats Ana as a form of Anna.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Ana — supports derivation from Anna, usage, root, variants, diminutives, related names, pronunciation (Bulgarian, Georgian).
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity.
