Anaken
A unique feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Anaken. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anaken today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anaken births was 2021 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anaken. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Anaken. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2021
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,250
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Anaken: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Anaken by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Anaken during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Anaken
The name Anaken originated in ancient Sumerian culture, which flourished in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500-2000 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian words "an" meaning "heaven" and "aken" meaning "to make firm or secure." The name was likely given to children with the intention of securing their place in the heavenly realm.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anaken can be found in a cuneiform inscription from the reign of the Sumerian king Shulgi, who ruled the city-state of Ur around 2094-2047 BCE. The inscription mentions an individual named Anaken who served as a high-ranking priest in the temple of the moon god Nanna.
In the ancient Akkadian language, which was heavily influenced by Sumerian, the name took on a slightly different form, "Anakinu." This version appeared in several Akkadian texts from the late Bronze Age, including a clay tablet from the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-627 BCE), which listed Anakinu as a scribe in the royal court.
During the Hellenistic period (323-31 BCE), the name underwent further evolution as it spread to various regions of the Mediterranean. In ancient Greece, it was rendered as "Anakenos," and there are records of an Athenian philosopher by that name who lived around the 4th century BCE.
Moving into the early medieval period, the name Anaken reappeared in the Middle East. One notable figure was Anaken al-Basri (642-728 CE), a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Basra, Iraq, who made significant contributions to the field of Quranic exegesis.
In Europe, the name Anaken surfaced in various forms during the Middle Ages. For instance, there was a Frankish nobleman named Anachinus (c. 780-845 CE) who served as a count under the Carolingian dynasty. Another historical figure was Anachino de Buondelmonti (1145-1216 CE), an Italian diplomat and writer from Florence.
People
Anaken + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anaken as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Anaken: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anaken?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anaken going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Anaken a common name?
We classify Anaken as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anaken most popular?
The single biggest year for Anaken was 2021, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anaken is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Anaken in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anaken a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anaken in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Anaken still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anaken in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Anaken can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Anaken as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.