I could have written this post about my own [name_f]Anna[/name_f]! First, big hugs. I was in your shoes last year when my [name_f]Anna[/name_f] was born and I drove myself absolutely nuts. For us, [name_f]Anna[/name_f] was also a compromise name. I was obsessed with my first daughter’s name [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] for decades but had the hardest time following up with another girl’s name. I went with [name_f]Anna[/name_f] for all the same reasons others mentioned. It really is a beautiful name! However when [name_f]Anna[/name_f] was born, I had the hardest time calling her by her first name! It felt so elegant for a little squishy baby. As time went on, my little Anna’s daredevil personality came out and she felt more like an [name_f]Annie[/name_f] to me. So now I call her [name_f]Annie[/name_f] 90% of the time. [name_f]My[/name_f] 3 year old calls her [name_f]Annie[/name_f] Bananie/ [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Banana[/name_f] and it’s become a term of endearment. I don’t know if the nickname will stick come grade school, but it suits her now. Perhaps using a nickname in the interim will help you too. I’m glad you’re getting help for your postpartum anxiety. It can be such a tough time. Best of luck to you!
I am a mama to a [name_u]George[/name_u] and an Anna!!! I felt the same way about her name in the beginning as well. I was very close to changing it, but we didn’t and now honestly, I can’t really picture her named anything else.
SEK- no way! Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry you went through this also. It’s been an awful experience, as you know. I didn’t even consider the name [name_f]Anna[/name_f] until the day before I left the hospital so that freaked me out also. That I didn’t do enough research before postpartum.
Did you ever get confused when [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] talks? For example, my 5 year old son will say “and I’m excited” and I swear it would sound like “Anna’s excited”. And I’ll ask him “Anna’s excited?” And he’ll say “no I am!” It freaked me out. It doesn’t happen as much now than when we first came home from the hospital. Again, is this because of postpartum anxiety or is it because I never used her name before postpartum?
Also when [name_f]Anna[/name_f] starts to talk, will I get confused and not know if she is saying “Anna” or “and”??! 
Arknorth- no way!!! How did you pick their names?
[name_u]George[/name_u] is my father in laws name, Greek tradition to name him after my husbands Dad. So I had years to just LOVE [name_u]George[/name_u].
Anna’s name- picked in the hospital and was the only “family name” (besides Joanna) from my side. And I’m freaking out over it lol
When did you get used to Anna’s name? Did you ever get confused with it sounding like “and a” or “and I’m?” or when she learned how to talk… did you ever not know if she was saying her name or saying “and”?? 
Not a mom of an [name_f]Anna[/name_f] but I love this name so much!
I think it’s easy to really become focused on details or things no one else will notice when we name our real life children!
To me, [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is very classic, pretty, and goes really well with [name_u]George[/name_u].
This is definitely a special time but can also be really overwhelming.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] my opinion but many names sound like words and my guess is you are just noticing this now with [name_f]Anna[/name_f] because it’s so new to you. To me [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is clearly a name…I see how it could sound like “and a” when spoken quickly but that isn’t something I would notice or have ever thought of.
Many very beloved popular names also can sound like other words…Emma, [name_f]Mia[/name_f], Noah…there are so many. I’m sure parents of little Emma’s (a beautiful name) at first hear [name_f]Emma[/name_f] a lot when they say/hear “I’m a…”
I don’t know if that makes sense but hope that helps!
All.the.names- yes it makes total sense to me! [name_f]My[/name_f] mind never went there until I really started using her name. I just hope that it goes away soon so I can just tolerate her name and start to like/love it.
You are right that this could apply to other names also. And I would hate to change her name because of this reason alone, and then have this “brain hiccup” with another name. I guess that’s why asking on here helps me to sort out if this is even a rational thought and/or reason to change a name.
Thank you!
For what it is worth, I think [name_f]Anna[/name_f] goes better with [name_u]George[/name_u] than [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. Joanna/Joanne scream mid 20th century to me, while [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is such a classic name. (she still has part of your Grandmothers name as [name_f]Anna[/name_f]. It might also help that both names have a very similar meaning. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] means grace while [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] is God is gracious.
I would have loved to call one of my daughters [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], but their father hated it. I hated some of his suggestions as well. There are times when we do have to compromise
[name_f]Anna[/name_f] and [name_u]George[/name_u] fit together very well as Greek and [name_f]English[/name_f] names, I knew a lady once who had sons [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m] and [name_u]Tristan[/name_u]. When her [name_f]Anna[/name_f] was born, she said she picked [name_f]Anna[/name_f] because the name had a Russian feel about it (to go with Nicholas) and it went with [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] as well.
I’m more than likely a day late and a dollar short on this, but I just found a name on Instagram…
[name_f]Gianna[/name_f]
I think it’s Italian, has [name_f]Anna[/name_f] in it, and sounds pretty similar to [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. You don’t have to love it, but personally, I think I really do!
I actually haven’t run into this issue with myself or toddler confusing everyday words with [name_f]Anna[/name_f]! It might be your postpartum anxiety overthinking it. Hopefully with time [name_f]Anna[/name_f] will stand out on it’s own. 
SEK- thank you so much. This gives me relief and hope, logically knowing this is my postpartum anxiety and that this is not a problem for a mom of [name_f]Anna[/name_f]!
[name_f]Anna[/name_f] is a perfectly fine name - congratulations on your baby girl!
I just wanted to say that [name_f]Anna[/name_f] + middle name is always one of my favorite double names. I know many girls/women named [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Beth[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f]. I find these names incredibly endearing for a child and a grown woman.
Does your daughter have a middle name that you could also call her that helps it to feel more like a name you love?
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband and my father in laws name is George!! So I basically didn’t have any option except to name him [name_u]George[/name_u].
For [name_f]Anna[/name_f], it took me about a month to like her name. It was the only name we could agree on. Now she’s 3 and I can’t see her with any other name.
We always get so many compliments on their names!! Now we’re expecting number 3 and are struggling to find a sibling name.
arknorth- congratulations on baby number 3! It’s nice to know that it can be normal to pick a name out just because it’s literally the only one we could agree with. It’s already growing on me slowly so I hope with time I will love her name as much as I love her.
I think it’s so neat our kids have the same names!
Good luck with naming number 3… [name_u]Leo[/name_u] and [name_u]John[/name_u] were our boy names but we are done done lol 
Hi Sunshine, I read your post today and was wondering how you are doing? I relate so much to what you wrote. I had massive name regret about my daughter’s very common (my fear: boring?) name Sophie, which was also a compromise. I struggle with anxiety in general and my feelings of regret are always stronger when I’m not doing so well (I definitely had some sort of PPD). My daughter is almost three now and I’m doing much, much better in terms of name regret. Although I still obsess about her name being ridiculously popular in our area and country in general (and I also hear it A LOT in every day words in our language), but I’m now more used to it and not hyper-aware and also, it’s not the most important thing to me anymore. It’s only one small part of her and I’m glad we chose a classic, well-loved name (as you did with the timeless Anna)! A few things that helped me: Hearing my daughter start to say her own name, hearing her say that it’s “fun” if someone shares her name, taking a break from researching her name, possible nicknames, associations, statistics, etc. and the answers from all of the kind people on here to my original post and also the stories here: Being a namenerd vs naming a person
I also had many, many conversations about it with my husband, because I was also quite angry at him for a long time (during the naming process, he seemed to veto all my suggestions, made fun of them and never wanted to talk much about names in general - he apologised for much of that since.)
When name regret feelings do flare up, I tell myself that I did my very, very best to find the “right” name for my daughter and that I want to trust that together, we made the best choice we could. And I’m confident the same is true for you! Also I vowed to never let my daughter know that the popularity of her name bothers me and only emphasise the things I love about her name.
I hope you are doing better! If you’re not, that’s okay also - please don’t beat yourself up for having those feelings or think that it makes you less present with your baby and therefore a “bad” mother! I’ve been there and it’s not helpful. All the best to you and your family!
I sympathize with you because I am not keen on the name [name_f]Anna[/name_f] (though I love [name_u]Anne[/name_u] and other similar names). I am also of the belief that the husband should defer more to the wife’s choices until he learns to give birth himself.
I think you should change her name legally to [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] and he can call her [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and you can call her [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], which to my ear is far more lovely.
What is her middle name?
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] @cleodora, thank you so much for reaching out and your response! Wow the similarities in our experience amazes me and your words are so thoughtful and reassuring. I can’t wait for the day to hear my daughter use her name and I know I will love hearing it.
I am actually doing much much better and have almost fully accepted that her name is [name_f]Anna[/name_f]. Feeling better has given me a relief that does not feed in to my doubt as much. It’s a slow process. It was definitely part postpartum anxiety that turned in to an obsession. Therapy, exposure (using her name with others), getting rest, and letting the chaos of a new baby settle all have helped me recover. I too agree that focusing on the positive things about her name has let me start to love it and that has helped let the negative parts not be as loud. I still hear her name in other common words but I don’t stay fixed on that and let it roll away, so I don’t care like I used to. It’s crazy how far I have come.
I still come on nameberry occasionally. Sometimes for reassurance, other times curiosity of what other people are naming… other times looking to stop my doubt of the other names I could have named her… but I say the same thing… my husband and I both did the very best we could for her. And I will only tell her the positive things about her name.
Thank you for giving me a glimpse of the future for us!
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] @Sunshine2016, sorry for not getting back to you sooner! It’s great to hear that you are doing so well and you are taking good care of yourself. I loved reading about your process and it’s reassuring not to be alone with name doubt/regret. Much love to you and your family! 
I think you’re having a bit of a panic and its valid. I’m gonna say give a little while. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] is a lovely name and its gonna take some time. Try on [name_u]Anne[/name_u] for a week and see how that feels and also try [name_f]Janna[/name_f] (Jan-Ah) the best part about babies is they don’t remember all the panics we have when they’re very small.