Respondents: 52 (This poll is closed)
I think it’s very sweet. I like the nn [name]Annie[/name] for a little girl, because it reminds me of Raggedy [name]Annie[/name] and [name]Little[/name] Orphan [name]Annie[/name] which were favorite childhood characters of mine. And, of course there’s [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables (anne with an e).
It works on an adult too - sounds very put together. But, I do think it might feel a little bland, once you’re too old for [name]Annie[/name] (which I don’t like so much for a grown woman). In the end, I think I’d rather go with [name]Anna[/name], as it just has a little bit more flaire to it.
Thanks, JLM! [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables, [name]Annie[/name] (the orphan), and the doll are the very reasons I love all [name]Anne[/name] names! 
I’m not expecting, but I was just realizing that I can’t recall the last time I heard of a young [name]Anne[/name]. [name]Annabelle[/name], [name]Annabel[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Annika[/name], [name]Annelise[/name], yes, but [name]Anne[/name]? Nope.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!)
Take care!
My name is [name]Anne[/name] and I’ve always felt like I got cheated in the name department. It’s so short and such a common element of so many other names that’s it’s always felt like a non-name to me. Like a default name or something.
It’s an absolute pain internationally, although you wouldn’t think it as it is common throughout the world - it’s just so hard to pronounce in a [name]North[/name] American accent and be understood in other countries. In the UK people always think my name is [name]Erin[/name] or [name]Ellen[/name] or [name]Leanne[/name]. I am forever spelling my name. [name]Anne[/name], A-n-n-e, [name]Anne[/name] - and then people feel silly for not having understood it in the first place and I feel awkward for making them feel patronised by having to spell out the most basic name on the planet for them.
I have tried to like my name, I really have. There are plenty of great namesakes (I was named for the Canadian singer, [name]Anne[/name] [name]Murray[/name]) but I just can’t get over the feeling that it’s a default. I’ve always tried to imagine what it would feel like to have a ‘real’ name.
The one advantage it has had for me is that in my professional life people always presume I’m about 20-30 years older than I am because young people never have the name [name]Anne[/name] these days, so that’s worked to my advantage in some ways.
I was given the nn [name]Annie[/name] as a child but I’ve always hated it. People still call me that but I think it’s terrible for an adult - so childish.
Sorry to get so negative on this name, it does look nice on paper but the realities of living with it are something altogether more difficult.
btw…[name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables didn’t like her name either, “call me [name]Cordelia[/name]”…
I prefer [name]Annabelle[/name], but I know a one year old named [name]Anne[/name] and she’s the cutest thing and has made me love the simplicity of her name. If you love it, that is all that matters.
Thanks for this insight, [name]Anne[/name]. (I love your name.) 
I’m doubting I’d ever use the name (I’m more of an [name]Annabelle[/name] person), but for some reason, I’ve been thinking about it lately.
[name]Cordelia[/name] is actually one of my all-time favorite names (along with [name]Genevieve[/name], [name]Annabelle[/name], [name]Cora[/name], [name]Felicity[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Juliet[/name], [name]Louisa[/name], [name]Lydia[/name], and [name]Rose[/name]), and I came to love it from [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables.
I can’t thank you enough for being honest about your feelings here. [name]Anne[/name] is my mom’s middle name, and she’s always loved it, but it’s great to hear from people who don’t feel the same way.
Would you have been happier as [name]Annabelle[/name] or [name]Anna[/name], or are you just not a fan of [name]Anne[/name] names in general?
Take care!
Hello, [name]Jill[/name]!
I prefer [name]Anne[/name] to [name]Annabelle[/name], simply because [name]Annabelle[/name] looks unnecessarily frilly to me (says the girl who likes [name]Arabella[/name]). I do prefer [name]Annabel[/name], but [name]Anne[/name] seems more sturdy and sophisticated. That being said, I like [name]Anna[/name] rather than [name]Anne[/name] because of the elegant sweetness that [name]Anna[/name] conveys. In my mind, [name]Anne[/name] means business, but [name]Anna[/name] has a feminine beauty and whimsy that [name]Anne[/name] doesn’t.
I know one [name]Anne[/name] who is in her 40s and two young ones named [name]Anna[/name]. One is 19 and the other is about 7 - she went by [name]Annie[/name] until recently deciding that she preferred her given name of [name]Anna[/name].
I agree that the name has a collection of greats attached to it, with [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables and Orphan [name]Annie[/name] coming to mind at once. However, I also think of [name]Anne[/name] [name]Bronte[/name], [name]Anne[/name] [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Princess[/name] [name]Anne[/name] of [name]England[/name], [name]Anne[/name] [name]Frank[/name], [name]Anne[/name] Boleyn, [name]Anne[/name] Hathaway (both [name]Shakespeare[/name]'s wife and the modern actress), and even [name]Anne[/name] Geddes!
[name]Anna[/name], too, has some big names attached to it, from the historical [name]Anna[/name] [name]Harrison[/name] (wife of [name]William[/name] [name]Henry[/name] [name]Harrison[/name]) and [name]Anna[/name] [name]Roosevelt[/name] (daughter of [name]Franklin[/name] [name]Delano[/name] [name]Roosevelt[/name] and [name]Eleanor[/name] [name]Roosevelt[/name]) to the modern [name]Anna[/name] Kournikova (the tennis beauty), [name]Anna[/name] [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Smith[/name] (the late “model”), and even [name]Anna[/name] Wintour (think Vogue).
There seems to be a whole world of [name]Anne[/name] named out there, but my favorites are probably [name]Anna[/name], for its elegant sophistication and feminine sweetness, and [name]Anneliese[/name], for its foreign charm and beauty (it also “sort of” includes my middle name, [name]Elyse[/name]).
Best wishes to you!
You know a baby [name]Anne[/name]? I once knew a baby [name]Anne[/name] (I was about 10 when she was born), and I’ve not met a young [name]Anne[/name] since! Isn’t it amazing how a positive association with a name can totally change your feelings about it?
Thanks for sharing, Millikate!
Have a good night!
[name]Jill[/name], anything will more than one syllable is great by me!
I definitely would have preferred [name]Anna[/name], but like others have suggested, to me this is a completely different name to [name]Anne[/name] so I couldn’t actually see myself as an [name]Anna[/name] but do prefer it to [name]Anne[/name] as a name.
All the best!
I’m not sure what I have to say should have any bearing. I really like practical names, short, usually, but I have my limits on the short side. A handful of names, and [name]Ann[/name]/[name]Anne[/name] is one ([name]Anna[/name] too), seem so much more than practical, sort of generic. I voted “fine, I guess.”
I really, really try to see these names as elegant and timeless and very refined, as if the woman whose name it is also needs not embellish herself with an attention-grabbing name, that she herself is interesting and important enough to go by the simplest. I think this is a matter of taste - I like some pretty boring names, and some names I think have some lilt to me would belong in the very plain and generic category to someone else ([name]Sara[/name] is an example of names some people think are too boring and generic). I could say “I know it when I hear it,” this means nothing to someone else’s ears and they hear something else, the imagery comes to them from their own experiences and they think my pretty names are harsh or dated or don’t sound flowery enough and bore them to tears.
I want [name]Anne[/name] to do something, I guess. I think it stands very powerfully by itself, I feel it has some uh… lacy quality without doing anything? I am thinking of [name]Queen[/name] [name]Anne[/name]'s [name]Lace[/name], a wildflower. Where a name could be [name]Julia[/name] or [name]Margaret[/name] - I don’t know, decorative, [name]Anne[/name] just is [name]Anne[/name]. Not [name]Diane[/name], not [name]Annabelle[/name], not [name]Roseanne[/name]. Not that I think all these examples are improvements - in some sense I feel it adds too much more weight than I prefer - but some people think a name sounds better with a maximal approach, while [name]Anne[/name] is about as minimal as it gets. I want to like it, I want to appreciate it. It might come down to how it sounds - people get quite nasal when they say it, Annnn, where they don’t get nasal with [name]Julianne[/name], just has a nice N sound at the finish and no buzzing sound in the back of your throat.
I guess in a practical sense, it is a good name, but does it sound like a name someone would have wanted. [name]Hi[/name], I’m [name]Anne[/name]. Nope, just [name]Anne[/name]. For someone who loves names as much as we both do, it seems like a hard name to love - it seems devoid of detail entirely - what do you love about names? I love how they sound like “someone.” (as well as the practical powers of the names I tend to like best - for to actually name someone and not just like theoretically). Poor [name]Anne[/name]! [name]Annie[/name] is cute, I haven’t read the [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables books to know [name]Anne[/name] as you do and feel warm about this name. It just leaves so much to the imagination. I want it to be [name]Nan[/name] or [name]Pam[/name] or [name]May[/name] at least, it doesn’t have to flip me, like an [name]Annika[/name] or [name]Anneliese[/name]. These seem too excessive to me, to be honest. What you need all that fluffy stuff for? Because [name]Anne[/name] is just [name]Anne[/name]! An undressed window with probably a gorgeous view, why you want to cover that up - because I was raised to think windows require some curtains or blinds or something. So conflicted.
I knew 2 Annas and 1 [name]Anne[/name] in school. [name]Anna[/name] 1 was totally bizarre, very smart though, outspoken, kind of like [name]Anne[/name] (described below) in appearance but actually kind of a tool interpersonally, and [name]Anna[/name] 2 went by her middle name, [name]Lisa[/name] (she was very Italian) (and kind of trashy). [name]Anne[/name] seemed more like you would want, she was smart, outgoing, not really trendy or modern at all (not totally nerdy, but not really preppy, not cliquey, not concerned with all of that high school stuff but not a loner either, and not uptight and old-fashioned. If you got her going, she could make you wet your pants laughing. She seemed like a generic girl next door, you couldn’t look at her and say she was a throwback to the 50s or the 1900s or very “now” either, as far as being a teenager in the 80s. Sweet and smiley and smart and funny. I know an [name]Anna[/name] now who just immigrated from [name]Russia[/name]. She is very sweet, I think she is 16 or 17, possibly older, or a couple years younger. Her father calls her [name]Anya[/name] sometimes, that makes me like her name a lot better. I guess I had been hoping [name]Anya[/name] was short for [name]Anastasia[/name] or something, which contradicts what I’d said earlier. Annnnna and [name]Ah[/name]-nah just seem like 2 different names, at least I’m warming up to [name]Ah[/name]-nah.
[name]Jill[/name], anything will more than one syllable is great by me!
I definitely would have preferred [name]Anna[/name], but like others have suggested, to me this is a completely different name to [name]Anne[/name] so I couldn’t actually see myself as an [name]Anna[/name] but do prefer it to [name]Anne[/name] as a name.
All the best![/quote]
Thanks, [name]Anne[/name]!
Thanks, [name]Karen[/name]! I agree with a lot of what you said, and it makes perfect sense to me.
I just realized that [name]Anne[/name] came to mind recently because I watched [name]Roman[/name] [name]Holiday[/name] not too long ago, and [name]Audrey[/name] Hepburn played the role of [name]Princess[/name] [name]Anne[/name].
I doubt I’d ever use [name]Anne[/name], but I was just so curious to see what people thought! Like you, [name]Karen[/name], I’m conflicted over [name]Anne[/name]. On the one hand, it feels so simple, crisp, and elegant to me, but on the other hand, it’s “just [name]Anne[/name]” as you put it.
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!
(Thanks, everyone!)
I think it would be so refreshing to see a little [name]Anne[/name]! It’s my mom’s name. I think the nickname [name]Annie[/name] is really cute, and I also love its variations, such as [name]Annika[/name], [name]Annabel[/name], and [name]Anneliese[/name], not to mention ones like [name]Marianne[/name] and [name]Rosanna[/name]. I much prefer this spelling to [name]Ann[/name]; I think it’s elegant and more timeless.
[/quote]
Thanks, [name]Karen[/name]! I agree with a lot of what you said, and it makes perfect sense to me.
I just realized that [name]Anne[/name] came to mind recently because I watched [name]Roman[/name] [name]Holiday[/name] not too long ago, and [name]Audrey[/name] Hepburn played the role of [name]Princess[/name] [name]Anne[/name].
I doubt I’d ever use [name]Anne[/name], but I was just so curious to see what people thought! Like you, [name]Karen[/name], I’m conflicted over [name]Anne[/name]. On the one hand, it feels so simple, crisp, and elegant to me, but on the other hand, it’s “just [name]Anne[/name]” as you put it. I just can’t help but love the name, though!
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!
(Thanks, everyone!)
I love [name]Anne[/name], but I think the objections to its being plain have some merit. For someone who wants to use [name]Anne[/name] as a first name, I think the solution is to go with a very elaborate and unusual middle, something like…[name]Cordelia[/name], maybe (Actually, IIRC, [name]Diana[/name] in the [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables series ended up naming her first daughter [name]Anne[/name] [name]Cordelia[/name].)
Thanks for your input [name]Iris[/name] [name]Rose[/name]! I seriously can’t remember the last time I met a baby [name]Anne[/name]! (Can you?) I, too, love the [name]Annie[/name] nickname!
Have a great night!
I agree, Majotaur! And, I totally forgot that [name]Anne[/name] named her daughter [name]Anne[/name] [name]Cordelia[/name]! (Thanks for the reminder!) I knew she was [name]Anne[/name] (nn [name]Nan[/name]), but it’s great to remember [name]Cordelia[/name] as the middle.
Thanks again!
My 11 year old sister is named [name]Anne[/name] (I actually chose her name!). She is the sweetest, cutest girl and I feel that her name only adds to it. We call her both [name]Annie[/name] and [name]Anne[/name]. When she was a baby my family called her Annabellies or Bellies and we sometimes still call her [name]Annabelle[/name], but she’s known to everyone as [name]Anne[/name] or [name]Annie[/name]. If you like other [name]Anne[/name] names, you can still easily call her by them when you feel you need a few extra syllables. =)
You know, the [name]Anne[/name] of [name]Green[/name] Gables series has spawned a collection of great names!
[name]Anne[/name]
[name]Marilla[/name]
[name]Diana[/name]
[name]Jane[/name]
[name]Ruby[/name]
[name]Lavender[/name]
[name]Charlotta[/name]
[name]Leonora[/name]
[name]Stella[/name]
[name]Philippa[/name]
[name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Katherine[/name]
[name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Cornelia[/name]
These are clearly just a selection, and even the author, [name]Lucy[/name] [name]Maud[/name] [name]Montgomery[/name], has a rather vintage-sweet but dignified name!
Sorry for the side-note…
That’s great! My mom often calls my sister, [name]Sarah[/name], Sarabeth…