Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, we discuss reader’s name questions, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! To have your question considered, email appmtn (at) gmail. Looking for your own private #namehelp post? Order one here.
RETHINKING A FAVORITE NAME
Stephanie writes:
Our daughter is due at the end of September. My partner and I had planned to name her Annie Grace. Her last name will be five syllables, hyphenated, something like Hunter-Melino.
We agreed on her name pretty early on and haven’t given it any more thought. But we just had a baby shower, and we got cards addressed to Anna and Anne, plus more than one person asked me what her “real” name would be.
I kind of shrugged it off at first, but I keep wondering if I’m not getting it and feel like I need a check-in with someone objective.
While I can see that the difference is slight, I really don’t like the name Anna as much. Annie is what I want to call my daughter, so I don’t see why I should use a name I like less. But I don’t want to make a choice that I’ll later regret.
My partner would be happy either way, but agrees that her everyday name will be Annie.
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
THE ONLY RULE IS THAT THERE ARE NO RULES
Abby replies:
Congratulations on your new daughter!
Conventional wisdom says that Anna (or Anne or Annabelle or some other Ann- name) is what goes on your daughter’s birth certificate. Annie is what you call her in everyday life.
There are solid reasons for this. A formal name can signal the gravity of a situation, like a graduation. It can leave room for our children to grow and make their own choices.
But – even though I agree with all of those points – I also think that’s very dated advice.
A few considerations:
- Our world is infinitely more casual in the 2020s than it was in the 1920s, or even the 1980s. My kids put on jeans to dress up. These are not the people worrying that Katie or Charlie isn’t serious enough for a doctor/elected official/what-have-you.
- It overlooks the reality that lots of formal, real names end in the EE sound. Mary and Lucy and Henry all end with the EE sound, but they’re considered classics. Sophie isn’t short for Sophia; it’s the French form. It’s not always obvious what makes one name a full, formal choice and relegates the other to nickname status.
All of this makes me agree with you: if you love the name Annie, and plan to call your daughter Annie? There’s no reason you shouldn’t give her that exact name.
Or wait, maybe there’s one reason. Annie has fewer options than Anna/Anne/Annabelle.
On the plus side: your daughter will never have to correct someone, “please call me Annie.”
But she’ll also never have the choice of introducing herself more formally if she’d like some distance. Annie has fewer options, in many subtle ways, than Anna.
Also worth noting: name popularity data suggests that most of us have opted for Anna or Anne over the years.
- In 2024, 2,700 girls were named Anna, plus another 450 called Anne. Annie was given to 1,564 newborns.
- In 1994, the numbers were a little different. 7,529 girls were named Anna, followed by 1,432 called Anne, and 804 named Annie.
- Going back to 1954, there were 4,000 girls named Anna, 5,298 Annes, and 2, 409 Annies.
- And for good measure, the 1924 numbers are as follows: 13,067 girls named Anna, plus another 3,627 Annes and 7,347 Annies.
In other words? Annie has always been in the mix, but Anne/Anna has always been more common.
I wonder if that’s part of the issue. Sometimes the most common choice can be misunderstood as the right choice.
SO … ANNA OR ANNIE?
My instinct is that there’s not really a wrong answer here. But that won’t help you make a decision.
If I had to put my thumb on the scale, think I’d favor Anna-called-Annie, because:
- It preserves additional choice for your child in the future.
- Annie is such an obvious, easy nickname for Anna that she’ll rarely have to explain it. It’s like shortening Benjamin to Ben – almost automatic.
- While I don’t think the dominant name is always the correct choice, if you’re uncertain, there’s merit to sticking with the more popular option. Why? Because you’ll probably get more positive reactions.
But I suspect this isn’t what you really prefer. So I think it might time for a little thought experiment.
Step One: Flip a coin. Heads, her name is Anna. Tails, her name in Annie.
Step Two: Imagine your daughter, 10 or 20 years in the future, asking why you made the choice you did. What comes to mind?
Step Three: Sit with it – both the feeling of choosing whichever name the coin flip dictates and the explanation that feels right to you.
I kind of think you’ll come down on the side of Annie – and I love that for you!
Readers, what do you think? Would you name her Annie Grace or Anna Grace?
My daughter’s name is Ana Sophia, nn Annie. She almost exclusively goes by Annie, and I wish I had just named her Annie because that is my favorite name and the name I want people to know her as. When I ask my daughter what her name is she says her name is Annie. She’s 2. Ana doesn’t even cross her mind. I’m biased, but I think you should name your little one Annie. That will be her name.
Stick with Annie -I think it’s adorable! Congratulations!
We know a young Annie. (Siblings Jack & Emma) and it fits her so well!… Anna doesn’t pair well with Emma and Annie does so well. I can’t imagine her as an Anna as she has such a spunky personality. Annie feels like it’s a timeless diminutive because it’s been around so long. Think Molly, Kate, Nancy, Margo, Elsie, Maggie, Josie, Sadie, Leo, Max, Eli. Congrats!
Annie is a beautiful name! It’s very good to put the consideration in before she’s born. It sounds like Annie has always been her name and the only reason you are questioning a more formal name on her birth certificate is because a few family/friends have made the assumption.
I think stick with your plan of what to call her. It’s your and your husbands decision (not anyone else’s assumptions!) and it’s a beautiful name. You can always shorten it here and there as a nickname just to add the name “Anne” in there if you like the option of a shorter nickname that sounds more formal. I know it’s different, but our dog is named Rosie and not infrequently do I also call her Rose. Same sort of thing.
I know a 10 year old Annie and her birth certificate name is Anne, but no one would ever know. She’s Annie to everyone.
Maybe also consider: If her name is Annie but then at formal times in her life she gets called “Anne/Anna” like at a graduation or wedding, would that be okay with you or would you want her to be called her name, Annie?
Best of luck! Congratulations on your baby girl coming so soon 🙂
My mom always talks about the judge test. Does the name sound okay on a judge, a president, a CEO? I think that The Honorable Annie Hunter-Melino sounds fine, as does Senator Annie Hunter-Melino or President Annie Hunter-Melino. But I definitely expect to hear The Honorable Anna Hunter-Melino or Senator Anne Hunter-Melino. So while I would probably write Anna or Anne on the birth certificate, I think it’s definitely just about what feels right to you.
For me growing up, having a longer name with plenty of nicknames options was very helpful!
Because of that reason, I would lean toward a longer name with a LOT of nickname options.
Annie is sweet and frank and snappy. I can see why you love it!
Congratulations and best wishes!
I’m here to echo FE that Annie can absolutely use Ann whenever she wants, if Anna can be Annie. I’ve tried to discuss this over the years as a Nicholas-Name – why shouldn’t anyone have access to all the variations of a name? Formal shouldn’t equal ‘better access.’
My daughter has a nickname name and we did have a brief period of regret when she was months old. We did anecdotal research, including our niece with a nickname name, two friends who go by their middle name and two adults with our daughters name. The result was the adults loved their nickname name and it didn’t stop them from ‘success’ and the friends who went by their middle felt it a huge headache. We did change our daughter’s middle to be something less whimsical, for options. But you already chose a lovely middle name.
I’ve always been in the name-them-what-you’ll-call-them camp. So take that for what it’s worth. But my daughter is 9 and I’ve only been asked twice what it’s short for (from strangers) and she says she’s been been asked once. I explained all this to her recently and she was pretty indifferent about ‘losing out on a formal name.’ She was more pumped up by all the people who love her name when they hear it.
Your Annie will be a ‘true’ Annie. That’s how an acquaintance explained our choice early on and I love that. If your daughter meets other Annies, and they’ll for longer versions, she’s the one Annie in the room.
Another disclaimer – I also LOVE the name Annie. Way more than Anna. Stick with it!
Annie strikes me as one of those names that *could* be short for something but much like Sadie, Molly, Hallie etc, but it also works perfectly fine on its own. It sounds like your heart wants Annie over a more formal version so I say go with it. For what it’s worth, I know a 10 yr old Annie, not Anne or Anna, and it didn’t even cross my mind to think “hmm I wonder what that’s short for” when I met her and I’m someone who loves names.