Anyi
A feminine given name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 148 living Americans carry the first name Anyi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anyi today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anyi births was 2024 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anyi. 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.
People living today
148
~ 1 in 2,315,908 Americans
Peak year
2024
19 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,170
Tracked since 2001
Census
Anyi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 590 people with the first name Anyi, which placed it at #18,296 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,296
National first-name rank
People counted
590
590 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
73.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anyi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anyi is Hispanic at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.2%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Anyi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Anyi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.2% · 432
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.2% · 131
- Black or African American2.0% · 12
- White1.2% · 7
- Two or more races1.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Anyi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anyi from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 58 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Anyi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anyi 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 Anyi 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 Anyi
The name Anyi is believed to have originated from the Akan language spoken in Ghana and other parts of West Africa. The name is thought to be derived from the Akan word "anyi," which means "eye" or "to see." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals with striking or expressive eyes, or perhaps to those with a keen sense of observation or insight.
The Akan people have a rich cultural heritage dating back several centuries, and their naming traditions often reflect important aspects of their belief systems and values. The name Anyi may have held special significance within this cultural context, although the specific origins and historical references are not entirely clear.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anyi can be found in the 16th century, when it was mentioned in the writings of Portuguese explorer and missionary João de Barros. He documented his encounters with the Akan people and their customs, including their naming practices.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Anyi. One such figure was Anyi Amba (c. 1740-1810), a powerful chief and military leader from the Oku region of present-day Cameroon. He is renowned for his resistance against the expansion of the Fulani Empire and his efforts to protect the autonomy of his people.
Another prominent Anyi was Anyi Monney (1812-1887), a renowned trader and diplomat from the Asante Empire (present-day Ghana). He played a crucial role in facilitating trade relations between the Asante and European powers, and his diplomatic skills helped maintain peace and stability in the region.
In the literary world, Anyi Tsyuo (1936-2014) was a celebrated Cameroonian writer and poet. Her works explored themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of women in West Africa. She is regarded as one of the pioneering voices in Francophone African literature.
A more contemporary figure was Anyi Shanti (1957-2010), a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was deeply involved in preserving and promoting the traditional dance forms of India and was widely recognized for her contributions to the arts.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Anyi, each leaving their mark in various fields and cultures.
People
Anyi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anyi 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
Anyi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anyi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 148 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anyi 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 2,315,908 US residents.
Is Anyi a common name?
We classify Anyi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 149 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anyi most popular?
The single biggest year for Anyi was 2024, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anyi is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anyi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 590 people with the name Anyi, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,296 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Anyi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Anyi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anyi leans strongly female. 531 people counted with this name were female (91.4%), compared with 50 male bearers (8.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Anyi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anyi is Hispanic at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.2%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Anyi most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Anyi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.2% (432 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Anyi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anyi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anyi 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 Anyi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anyi 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 Anyi 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.
How many Americans are named Anyi?
See how many people share the name Anyi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.