Bloganuary writing prompt

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

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“There’s such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I’m such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn’t be half so interesting.”

Anne Shirley

My parents named me after two great-grandmothers, Anna Strassberg (Annie) and Tamer Anna Payton (Ann). My name is a shortened version of Hannah, meaning “grace” or “God’s grace.” The Latin variation means “year,” and the Celtic version means “priceless.” In Turkish, Ann means “mother.” And if my family followed our German roots, I would be called Anja, meaning “eagle.”

Ann found popularity in 1934 and again around 1987. My nickname, Annie, remained center stage during the years 1896 and 2019.

And finally, while people spell Ann/Anne differently, this old-fashioned or should I state, this timeless name dropped in popularity over the years. According to the Babycenter, in 1961, the year I was born, my name ranked in 54th place out of 100 girl names. 

Yet, this proud Grammie must admit, I have found pride in the fact that “Ann” has wiggled its way into the names of two sweet granddaughters: Jessica Ann and Kylie Ann. And Marie has found its way through several generations: Elva Marie, Dotty Marie, Ann Marie, Leslie Marie, and Sierra Marie.

So as far as names go, my parents didn’t do such a lousy job, and after all these years, well, it’s kinda grown on me.

Photo by Nong on Unsplash