Given name & surname
Anka
“a woman graced with God's favor”
In Polish use, Anka is a diminutive of Anna. One Latin interpretation is “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Polish use, Anka is a diminutive of Anna. One Latin interpretation is “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Anka is a diminutive of Anna. Anna comes from Latin, and ultimately from Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Anka is a diminutive of Ana.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Anka through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 14
- 0 boys · 14 girls
- Most popular year
- 1975
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 2019. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 468 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Anka’s family of names
In Polish usage, Anka is a diminutive of Anna. In Serbo-Croatian usage, Anka has a conventional naming counterpart in the English form Annie. Anka has a related form in Anna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Anka has relatives in 6 languages.
6 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Anka
- Anka BakovaBulgarian rowerborn 1957
- Anka GeorgievaBulgarian rowerborn 1959
- Anka KrizmanićCroatian painter (1896–1987)
- Anka Mrak-TaritašCroatian politicianborn 1959
- Anka ObrenovićMember of the House of Obrenovic1821–1868
- Anka ButoracYugoslav partisan (1903–1942)
- Anka KhristolovaBulgarian former volleyball playerborn 1955
- Anka BerusCroation politician (1903-1991)
- Anka SchmidSwiss screenwriter (born 1961)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Anka, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Aja
1% boys · 99% girls
Angelita
“messenger” · “a heavenly messenger; an angel”
>99% girls
Arcelia
“from the altar of heaven”
>99% girls
Amie
“beloved” · “dearly loved”
>99% girls
Ami
“one who is industrious and hardworking”
23% boys · 77% girls
Anissa
“one who is affectionate and friendly”
>99% girls
Tanya
“queen of the fairies”
>99% girls
Fanta
“born on a beautiful day”
>99% girls