UK girl's name
Ananya
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "endless" or "infinite".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Ananya is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Ananya popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1603, with 19 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 49 births.
This profile covers 684 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1997 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 39% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 691 living people in the UK are called Ananya. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Ananya ranked #1603 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 19 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2015, when 49 girls were registered as Ananya.
- • Ananya ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #808 in 2017.
- • About 691 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ananya as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1603
2024
Births in 2024
19
Latest year
Peak year
2015
49 births
Estimated living
691
2026
Meaning
What does Ananya mean?
The name Ananya has its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient and classical language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the word "ananya," which means "unique," "incomparable," or "without equal." The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, as early as the 4th century BCE.
Ananya is a popular name among Hindus and is often associated with Hindu mythology and religious texts. It is found in the Puranas, a vast collection of ancient Hindu scriptures, where it is sometimes used to describe the divine or the ultimate reality. The name is also mentioned in the Upanishads, a collection of philosophical texts that form the theoretical basis of Hinduism.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ananya can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Ananya is the name of a female character who is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman. The name is also mentioned in other ancient Indian texts, such as the Vedas and the Ramayana.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ananya. One of the earliest recorded examples is Ananya, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. She is known for her works on grammar, poetry, and philosophy.
Another notable person with the name Ananya was Ananya Devi, a Bengali poet and writer who lived in the 19th century. She is considered one of the pioneers of modern Bengali literature and is known for her contributions to the development of the Bengali language and literature.
In more recent times, Ananya Panday, an Indian actress and model born in 1998, has gained popularity for her roles in Bollywood films such as Student of the Year 2 and Liger.
Ananya Birla, an Indian businesswoman, singer, and songwriter born in 1994, is another prominent figure with this name. She is the daughter of the billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and is known for her successful career in both business and music.
Ananya Vinay, an Indian-American student, gained international recognition in 2017 when she won the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the age of 12.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Ananya over time
The chart below shows babies named Ananya registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Ananya, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 19 births in 2024, compared with 49 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ananya by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ananya was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1403 | 113 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1087 | 341 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1360 | 213 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2617 | 17 | 3 |
Geography
Where Ananya is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ananya. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Ananya ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #808 in 2017.
Across the UK
Ananya in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#808 in 2017
3 years of NRS records, 10 total registered
Related
Names similar to Ananya
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Ananya: questions and answers
How popular is the name Ananya in the UK right now?
In 2024, Ananya was ranked #1603 for girls in England and Wales, with 19 births registered.
When was Ananya most popular?
The peak year on record was 2015, with 49 babies registered as Ananya in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Ananya?
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "endless" or "infinite".
How many people are called Ananya in the UK?
A total of 684 babies have been registered as Ananya across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 10 more in Scotland.
Where is Ananya most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Ananya ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #808 in 2017. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.