Anansa
A feminine name of West African origin meaning "spider's web".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Anansa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anansa today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anansa births was 1993 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anansa. 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 Anansa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1993
7 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1993 SSA rank
#10,663
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Anansa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anansa from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 12 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anansa 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 Anansa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anansa
The name Anansa is believed to have its origins in the Akan language spoken by the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa. The name is thought to be derived from the word 'ananse,' which means 'spider' in the Akan language.
In Akan folklore, Ananse is a popular trickster character who takes the form of a spider. The Ananse stories often feature the spider as a cunning and mischievous figure who uses his wit and intelligence to outwit others. These tales have been passed down from generation to generation and have become an integral part of Akan cultural heritage.
The name Anansa may have been given to individuals in recognition of their cleverness, resourcefulness, or ability to navigate challenging situations with ingenuity, much like the legendary Ananse spider.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anansa can be found in the historical records of the Ashanti Kingdom, a powerful West African empire that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. Anansa was the name of a prominent queen and advisor to the Ashanti King Osei Tutu in the late 17th century.
Another notable figure with the name Anansa was Anansa Kroma (1853-1927), a skilled diplomat and negotiator from the Akan people. She played a crucial role in mediating disputes between the British colonial authorities and local leaders in Ghana during the late 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Anansa Bakari (1898-1976) was a renowned Ghanaian writer and poet who helped popularize Akan folklore and oral traditions through her works. Her poetry collection, "The Spider's Web," published in 1954, drew inspiration from the Ananse stories and explored themes of wisdom, resilience, and cultural identity.
Moving beyond West Africa, Anansa Lumumba (1925-1961) was a Congolese activist and politician who fought for the independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo from Belgian colonial rule. She was a prominent figure in the Congolese nationalist movement and worked closely with her husband, Patrice Lumumba, who became the country's first democratically elected prime minister.
Lastly, Anansa Korama (1932-2018) was a trailblazing Ghanaian diplomat and one of the first African women to hold a high-ranking position in the United Nations. She served as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator from 1992 to 1997, playing a vital role in coordinating relief efforts during numerous humanitarian crises around the world.
People
Anansa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anansa 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
Anansa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anansa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anansa 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Anansa a common name?
We classify Anansa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anansa most popular?
The single biggest year for Anansa was 1993, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anansa is about 38 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 Anansa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anansa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anansa in the SSA data are female. 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 Anansa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anansa 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 Anansa 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 are called Anansa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.