Fun Facts About the Name Yanna
- 607 babies named Yanna: U.S. records list 607 babies given the name Yanna from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yanna Mean?
Yanna is a feminine given name usually explained as meaning "God is gracious." The common account is that it is a form of Ioanna (Ιωάννα), the Greek feminine of Ioannis, which descends from the Hebrew name Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן). That Hebrew name joins yo, a shortened form of the divine name, with chanan, "to be gracious" or "to show favor." The doubled n in Yanna follows the long habit, in Greek and Latin, of writing this Hebrew name with two n's, as in Ioanna and Johanna.
A second explanation treats Yanna as a spelling variant of Yana, a name used in Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Czech, among other Slavic languages. There it is normally taken as the feminine of Jan, the Slavic everyday form of Johannes (John), so it carries the same Hebrew-derived sense. These are not really rival etymologies; they are different routes by which one Hebrew name passed into different languages, and both end in the same meaning.
Yanna is not a form of Anna. Anna comes from a separate Hebrew name, Hannah (חַנָּה), meaning "favor" or "grace." The resemblance in sound is not evidence of a shared origin.
Yanna Name History & Origins
The name reached Europe through the biblical name Ioannes, which Greek-speaking Christians used as Ioannis for men and Ioanna for women. In the Gospels, Joanna (Ioanna) is named as a follower of Jesus whose husband served the household of Herod Antipas (Luke 8:3), and she appears among the women who found the empty tomb (Luke 24:10). That connection kept the feminine name alive in Greek-speaking lands, where everyday speech shortened it to Gianna (Γιάννα). Yanna is one of the ways that Greek name has been written in Latin letters.
In Slavic-speaking countries the related form Jana became common as the feminine of Jan, the ordinary Slavic form of Johannes. From Jana came the shorter Yana, and from Yana the spelling Yanna. The name therefore exists in slightly different shapes in Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Czech use, all of them standing on the same Hebrew original.
Yanna also occurs in the Netherlands and Belgium, where it is generally grouped with the short forms of Johanna, the Dutch and Latin form of Ioanna. Because these short forms overlap with one another, the precise path by which a particular Yanna received her name is not always recoverable, but the underlying name is the same.
How Popular is the Name Yanna?
Yanna has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2009. Its best rank was #4,566 in 2009.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,119 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 2024 | #8,383 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2023 | #8,026 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #6,206 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2021 | #8,008 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #6,067 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2019 | #8,583 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2018 | #8,133 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #9,321 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2016 | #7,217 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2015 | #7,994 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #7,287 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #13,095 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #7,129 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2011 | #7,765 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #5,590 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2009 | #4,566 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 2008 | #9,449 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #7,385 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2006 | #6,118 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2005 | #7,482 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #5,203 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2003 | #6,572 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #7,034 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #7,311 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2000 | #8,522 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #9,460 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #7,519 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1997 | #5,622 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #7,116 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1995 | #6,635 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1994 | #8,790 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #9,537 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #15,575 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #8,028 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #11,775 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #9,528 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #8,306 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #9,003 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #8,552 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #8,424 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #7,288 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1974 | #6,254 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #8,307 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yanna Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Yanna's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yanna's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.