DH loves the name [name_f]Anna[/name_f], and I do too as it fits many of our criteria: short, classic, pretty, feminine.
I have 2 hang-ups with it - popularity (thanks to Frozen!) and the fact that our last name has -ann in it. It’s the second syllable in our 4-syllable last name and is the accented syllable.
Thoughts?
If we pronounced it [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-a, it would be the exact sound in our last name. Too matchy/rhyme-y? Or perfectly ok?
If we pronounced it AHN-a, the sound would be different. But then would it beg the question of why the same letters are pronounced differently between the two names?
I think you’re over-thinking this. If it were, say, [name_f]Anna[/name_f] D’[name_f]Anna[/name_f], then yes, it’s too much, but in a four-syllable name, I don’t think it’s an issue if it has the “ann” sound.
You’re overthinking it. I think it’s totally fine, your last name has 4 syllables after all, it won’t be too obvious. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is very lovely, I say go for it.
Maybe spell it with one N? Or would that be worse?
Or [name_f]Ahna[/name_f]?
I can’t really tell since I don’t know that last name. It might sound a bit cartoonish.
It’s good that you are concerned. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] will likely be pronounced [name_f]Anne[/name_f]-a til you correct people.
[name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_m]Anderson[/name_m] looks bad. but something that ends in man would be fine. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_m]Hanley[/name_m] isn’t bad. You’re probably fine.
Depends on the last name. If you say it and it sounds like a cartoon, keep looking. I don’t love [name_f]Anna[/name_f] with last names that start or end with [name_f]Ann[/name_f]/[name_f]Anna[/name_f]: [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_m]Anderson[/name_m], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] Fontana. But an internal [name_f]Ann[/name_f] - [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Delancey[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_m]Hanson[/name_m] - sounds fine to me. I actually know a girl named [name_f]Anna[/name_f] whose last name starts with [name_m]Tan[/name_m], and it’s fine. Repeated sounds aren’t always bad and can make a name feel catchier.
People won’t necessarily get confused by [name_f]Ann[/name_f]- sounding different in the first and last names, but if you live in an English-speaking country people will probably say [name_f]Anna[/name_f] like [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] without an H, instead of like [name_f]Ana[/name_f]. I had a high school friend called [name_f]Anna[/name_f], pronounced [name_f]Ana[/name_f], and everyone got it wrong at first. But once people learned how she said it, it was easy to remember. The [name_f]Ana[/name_f] spelling may be easier if that’s the sound you’re going for, but I think people are trainable if you prefer [name_f]Anna[/name_f]! Frozen might help you there, to be honest.
Re: Popularity: I recently looked that up because I’ve always been an [name_f]Anne[/name_f] fan but [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is growing on me. It’s actually been falling lately and is given to about half as many babies as it was 10-15 years ago (this is U.S. data):Anna - Popularity of Anna, How Popular Is the name Anna?
Thank you so much, you guys! I really appreciate the first-name/last-name examples, as I don’t think any of them sound bad! I definitely wouldn’t do it if -an were the first syllable of our name, but it’s not. Last name is like [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] but longer, so I don’t think that’s too bad, given the examples.
I agree that most people will assume it’s [name_f]Anna[/name_f] like [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]. I like both pronunciations, actually. I’m also considering [name_f]Annika[/name_f] with the nn [name_f]Annie[/name_f], but same pronunciation issues there too.
I just can’t seem to find names i like that [name_m]DON[/name_m]'T have multiple ways of being said!!
