Ananiya
A feminine name of Russian origin associated with grace and protection.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ananiya. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ananiya today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ananiya births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ananiya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ananiya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ananiya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,255
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Ananiya: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ananiya 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 Ananiya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ananiya
The name Ananiya has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Hananiah," which means "favored by God" or "Yahweh is gracious." The name is a compound of the elements "Hanan" (grace or favor) and "Yah" (a shortened form of Yahweh, the Hebrew name for God).
One of the earliest references to this name can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. In the Book of Daniel, Hananiah (the Hebrew form of the name) is one of the four young men taken captive from Judah and brought to Babylon. Along with his companions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Hananiah refused to worship the golden idol erected by King Nebuchadnezzar and was miraculously saved from the fiery furnace.
In the Middle Ages, the name Ananiya gained popularity in various European countries, especially in Russia and Eastern Europe, where it was adapted to the local languages and spelling variations. One notable figure from this period was Ananiya Fyodorovich Prozorovsky (1564-1613), a Russian noble and diplomat who served as an envoy to the Ottoman Empire.
During the Renaissance, the name Ananiya was occasionally used in Italy, where it appeared in literary works and historical records. An example is Ananiya Tassoni (1565-1635), an Italian poet and satirist best known for his mock-heroic poem "La Secchia Rapita" (The Rape of the Bucket).
In the 19th century, the name Ananiya became more widespread in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. One notable figure was Ananiya Aleksandrovich Sapozhnikov (1782-1857), a Russian architect who designed several notable buildings in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Another prominent individual with this name was Ananiya Vasilyevich Verbytsky (1832-1909), a Ukrainian composer and priest who is best known for composing the music for the Ukrainian national anthem, "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" (Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished).
While the name Ananiya has its roots in Hebrew tradition, it has been embraced by various cultures and languages throughout history, with each adaptation reflecting the unique linguistic and cultural influences of the region.
People
Ananiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ananiya 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
Ananiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ananiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ananiya 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 Ananiya a common name?
We classify Ananiya 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 Ananiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Ananiya was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ananiya is about 7 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 Ananiya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ananiya a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ananiya 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 Ananiya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ananiya 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 Ananiya 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 Americans are named Ananiya?
Want to know how many Americans are named Ananiya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.