Anne | Name Meaning & Origin

Navarre Names, Basque Names, Finnish Names, French Names, Pirate Names, Middle Names

English, French and Norwegian speaking countries

Anne gained popularity through the belief that St Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary. There is no Biblical basis for this, though Anna is one of the people who meets the infant Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem.

Anne is the name of various Queens. Queen Anne of Great Britain was the last of the Stuart monarchs, whose reign oversaw the Act of Union between England and Scotland. Two of Henry VIII's wives were named Anne - Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves. Anne of Brittany was the wife of two French kings and Duchess of Brittany in her own right. She was one of the richest women in Europe at the end of the 15th century. Anne is also the name of the current Princess Royal of Great Britain.

'Queen Anne' style is a type of furniture and architecture. 'Queen Anne's lace' is another name for wild carrot, it is named after Queen Anne of Great Britain.

Anne Frank (or Annelies) was a Jewish girl, famous for the diary she wrote when in hiding from the Germans during World War Two.

Anne was the youngest of the Brontë sisters.

Other famous Annes include author Anne Rice, photographer Anne Geddes, actresses Anne Hathaway and Anne Bancroft, and 18th century pirate Anne Bonny.