Annelise
A feminine name of French origin meaning "grace" or "favor".
Name Census estimates that about 6,154 living Americans carry the first name Annelise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Annelise today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Annelise births was 2011 (225 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Annelise. 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 Annelise with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
6.2K
~ 1 in 55,696 Americans
Peak year
2011
225 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,321
Tracked since 1930
Census
Annelise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,602 people with the first name Annelise, which placed it at #3,643 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
#3,643
National first-name rank
People counted
5.6K
5,602 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Annelise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annelise is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.0%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Annelise 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 Annelise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.7% · 4,074
- Hispanic or Latino17.0% · 955
- Two or more races5.2% · 290
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 148
- Black or African American2.1% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Popularity
Annelise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Annelise from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,028 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Annelise remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Annelise 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 Annelise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Annelises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Annelise, while Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 123 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Annelise
Annelise is a German feminine given name derived from the combination of the Germanic elements "anna", meaning grace or favor, and "lise", a diminutive form of Elizabeth. Its origins can be traced back to the medieval era in Central Europe.
The name's roots can be found in the Old High German name "Annaliesa", which later evolved into various regional spellings such as "Anneliese" and "Annelise". This name was particularly popular among German-speaking communities during the Middle Ages and gained prominence throughout the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Annelise can be found in the 14th-century German epic poem "Der Arme Heinrich" by Hartmann von Aue. In this work, a character named Annelise is mentioned, suggesting the name's usage during this period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Annelise. Annelise Marie Frank (1929-1945) was a German-Dutch diarist and one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her diary, "The Diary of a Young Girl", has become an iconic literary work and a poignant testament to the atrocities of World War II.
Another prominent figure was Annelise Maier (1905-1971), a German philosopher and scholar known for her groundbreaking work on Kant's philosophy. Her contributions to the field of philosophy and her dedication to academic pursuits earned her widespread recognition.
In the realm of art, Annelise Strba (1942-1993) was a renowned German painter and printmaker. Her vibrant and expressive artworks, often depicting landscapes and nature scenes, gained critical acclaim and are part of numerous museum collections worldwide.
Annelise Borinski (1907-1995) was a German-American mathematician and educator. She made significant contributions to the field of mathematics education and played a crucial role in shaping the curriculum and teaching methods in American universities.
Annelise Camilli (1939-2010) was an Italian actress and television personality. She gained popularity for her roles in various Italian films and television shows, cementing her place as a prominent figure in the Italian entertainment industry.
While the name Annelise has its roots in the German language and culture, it has been adopted and embraced in various regions around the world, reflecting the diverse and multicultural nature of many societies today.
People
Annelise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Annelise 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
Annelise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Annelise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,154 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Annelise 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 55,696 US residents.
Is Annelise a common name?
We classify Annelise as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,293 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Annelise most popular?
The single biggest year for Annelise was 2011, when 225 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Annelise is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Annelise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,602 people with the name Annelise, or 1.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,643 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 Annelise 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 Annelise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Annelise appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,609 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Annelise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annelise is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.0%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Annelise most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Annelise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.7% (4,074 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 Annelise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Annelise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Annelise 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 Annelise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Annelise 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 Annelise 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 common is the name Annelise?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Annelise on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.