Meanings
Anne1
plural Annes
- A female given name from French.
Immortal God, that savedest Susanne / From false blame; and thou merciful maid, / Mary I mean, the daughter to Saint Anne, /Before whose child the angels sing Osanne,
1380s-1390s, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale3 more examples
"What do you think they are going to name the baby? Anne; after her and her mamma. So very ugly a name!" "I don't think so," said Mr Carlyle. "It is simple and unpretending. I like it much. Look at the long, pretentious names in our family - Archibald! Cornelia! And yours, too - Barbara! What a mouthful they all are!"
1860, Mrs Henry Wood (Ellen Wood), East Lynne, Kessinger Publishing, published 2004, →ISBN, page 29"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an e." "What difference does it make how it's spelled?" asked Marilla with another rusty smile as she picked up the teapot. "Oh, it makes such a difference. It looks so much nicer. When you hear a name pronounced can't you always see it in your mind, just as if it was printed out? I can, and A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished."
1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of the Green GablesFrench Socialists gathered recently in the Loire Valley for a weekend of debate that turned into the virtual anointment of Anne Hidalgo, the charismatic and divisive mayor of Paris, as their candidate for next year’s presidential election.
2021 September 2, Roger Cohen, “The French Left Is in Disarray, but Here Comes Anne Hidalgo”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2021
Anne2
- rareA male given name from the Germanic languages, of mainly French and Frisian usage, see Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
Origin
Anne · proper noun
- Hebrewחַנָּה“Hannah”
- Koine GreekἌννα
- Late LatinAnna
- FrenchAnne“Ann”
- EnglishAnne
From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna the Prophetess, from Koine Greek Ἄννα (Ánna) in the New Testament, from Hebrew חַנָּה (Ḥannâ, “Hannah”), from חַנָּה (ḥannâ, “grace, gracious, graced with child”). Occasionally reborrowed from languages who adopted the name from English. Very infrequently from Estonian abbreviation of Anna instead. Doublet of Ann, Ana, Anna, and Hannah. Compare John.
More words from French, Late Latin, Koine Greek
Full word history & related roots →Anne · proper noun
A shortened form of any of various Germanic masculine names which began with arn (eagle), such as Arnold.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Anne
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
Anne. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anne
“Anne.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anne. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Anne,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Anne.
Source: Anne on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.