ana/rita

ANA
GENDER: Feminine
USAGE: Spanish, Portuguese, Slovene, Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Georgian
OTHER SCRIPTS: Ана (Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian), ანა (Georgian)
PRONOUNCED: AH-nah (Spanish) [key]

Form of ANNA

Related Names

VARIANTS: Anna (Bulgarian), Jana (Croatian)
DIMINUTIVES: Anabel, Anita (Spanish), Anabela, Anita (Portuguese), Anica, Anja (Slovene), Anka (Bulgarian), Anca (Romanian), Anica, Anita, Anja, Anka, Ankica (Croatian), Anica, Anka (Serbian)
OTHER LANGUAGES: Anne (Basque), Anna, Hannah (Biblical), Anna (Biblical Greek), Channah (Biblical Hebrew), Anna (Biblical Latin), Anna, Annick (Breton), Aina, Anna, Anaïs (Catalan), Anna, Hana, Aneta (Czech), Ane, Anika (Danish), Anna, Anne, Hanna, Hannah, Anika, Anita, Anke, Anneke, Annelien, Annika, Anouk, Ans, Antje (Dutch), Ann, Anna, Anne, Hannah, Anissa, Anita, Aniya, Aniyah, Anneka, Annette, Annie, Annika, Keanna, Nan, Nancy, Nanette, Nannie, Nanny, Nettie, Nita (English), Quanna (English (African American)), Anna, Anu (Estonian), Anna, Anne, Hanna, Anita, Anja, Anneli, Anni, Anniina, Annika, Annikki, Annukka, Anu, Hannele, Niina (Finnish), Anne, Hannah, Anaïs, Annette, Anouk, Ninon (French), Anna, Anne, Hanna, Hannah, Anika, Anina, Anja, Anke, Annika, Antje, Hanne (German), Anna (Greek), Channah, Hannah, Chanah (Hebrew), Anna, Anikó, Annuska, Panni (Hungarian), Anna, Hanna (Icelandic), Nainsí (Irish), Anna, Annabella, Annetta (Italian), Ona (Lithuanian), Anniken (Norwegian), Anna, Hanna, Ania, Anita, Anka, Hania (Polish), Anna, Anaïs (Provençal), Anna, Ania, Annushka, Anushka, Anya (Russian), Anna, Anne, Hanna, Anita, Anja, Hanne (Scandinavian), Anna, Hana (Slovak), Annika (Swedish), Hanna (Ukrainian), Hena, Henda, Hene, Henye, Hendel (Yiddish)
Popularity
United States ranked #199
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked #24
Catalonia ranked #52
Chile ranked #68
Croatia ranked #3
France ranked #208
Netherlands ranked #491
Slovenia ranked #6
Spain ranked #19

Meaning & History
Form of Channah (see HANNAH) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the Hannah spelling. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary. In the English-speaking world, this form came into general use in the 18th century, joining Ann and Anne.
The name was borne by several Russian royals, including an 18th-century empress of Russia. It was also the name of the main character in Leo Tolstoy's novel 'Anna Karenina' (1877), a woman forced to choose between her son and her lover.
From the Hebrew name חַנָּה (Channah) meaning "favour" or "grace". Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel in the Old Testament. As an English name, Hannah was not regularly used until after the Protestant Reformation. The Greek and Latin version Anna is used in the New Testament and was traditionally more widely used as a Christian name.

RITA
GENDER: Feminine
USAGE: Italian, English, Scandinavian, German, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese
PRONOUNCED: REE-tə (English), REE-tah (German) [key]

Short form of MARGHERITA or other names ending in rita. A famous bearer was American actress Rita Hayworth (1918-1987).

Related Names

OTHER LANGUAGES: Grete, Grethe, Merete, Mette (Danish), Greet, Greetje, Griet (Dutch), Reeta, Reetta (Finnish), Margot, Margaux (French), Greet (Limburgish), Paaie (Manx), Meggy (Medieval English), Grete, Grethe, Mette (Norwegian), Marzena (Polish), Maisie, Mysie, Peigi (Scottish), Greta, Märta (Swedish), Mared (Welsh)

Meaning & History
Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", probably ultimately a borrowing from Sanskrit. Saint Margaret, the patron of expectant mothers, was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. Later legends told of her escape from a dragon, with which she was often depicted in medieval art. The saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and her name has been widely used in the Christian world.
Other saints by this name include a queen of Scotland and a princess of Hungary. It was also borne by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. Famous literary bearers include American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), the author of 'Gone with the Wind', and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (1939-).