Nannette
A feminine French diminutive form of Anne, meaning "grace".
Name Census estimates that about 4,055 living Americans carry the first name Nannette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nannette today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nannette births was 1963 (323 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nannette. 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 Nannette with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.1K
~ 1 in 84,526 Americans
Peak year
1963
323 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2013 SSA rank
#18,467
Tracked since 1889
Census
Nannette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,818 people with the first name Nannette, which placed it at #4,028 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
#4,028
National first-name rank
People counted
4.8K
4,818 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nannette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nannette is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Nannette 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 Nannette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 3,418
- Black or African American12.5% · 600
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 486
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 150
- Two or more races2.6% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 37
Popularity
Nannette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nannette from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 2,034 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nannette 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 Nannette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nannettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Nannette, while Iowa, District of Columbia, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 107 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nannette
The name Nannette is a French diminutive form of the name Anne, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "grace." The name Anne gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in France, where it was often spelled in various ways, including Nanne and Nanette.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nannette can be traced back to the 16th century in France. One notable bearer of this name was Nannette Streicher, a German composer and pianist born in 1769. She was a student and close friend of Ludwig van Beethoven and played a significant role in promoting his works during her lifetime.
In the literary world, Nannette was the name of a character in the novel "The Vicar of Wakefield" by Oliver Goldsmith, published in 1766. The character Nannette was portrayed as a virtuous and dutiful young woman, which may have contributed to the name's appeal during that era.
Another notable figure with the name Nannette was Nannette Massieux, a French actress born in 1835. She gained fame for her performances in several plays and operas, and was particularly renowned for her portrayal of the title role in the opera "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas.
In the world of ballet, Nannette de Valois, born in 1898, was a highly influential British dancer, choreographer, and director. She played a pivotal role in establishing the Royal Ballet and was instrumental in the development of British ballet during the 20th century.
Nannette Klara Medill Patterson Maunder, born in 1866, was a Canadian astronomer and educator. She made significant contributions to the study of sunspots and solar phenomena, and her work helped pave the way for women in the field of astronomy.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Nannette. While the name has its roots in French culture, it has been embraced across various countries and cultures, showcasing its enduring charm and appeal.
People
Nannette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nannette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nannette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nannette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,055 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nannette 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 84,526 US residents.
Is Nannette a common name?
We classify Nannette as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nannette most popular?
The single biggest year for Nannette was 1963, when 323 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nannette is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nannette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,818 people with the name Nannette, or 1.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,028 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 Nannette 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 Nannette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nannette appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,813 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nannette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nannette is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Nannette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nannette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (3,418 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 Nannette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nannette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nannette 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 Nannette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nannette 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 Nannette 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 people have the name Nannette?
Find out how many people share the name Nannette on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.