Fanny

Did you know?

A few things about Fanny you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Fanny

Fanny Elssler

Austrian ballerina (1810-1884)

Choose Fanny and your child shares a first name with Fanny Elssler, an Austrian ballerina. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Fanny, like who?” Fanny Elssler's Wikipedia article is available in 49 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Fanny Elssler on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Josef Kriehuber, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 89,286 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Fanny, 18 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Fanny would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryFanny has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Fannys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1880, when it ranked #182. Today it's #6,325, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🚀TrendFanny has climbed 3,221 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #6,325. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningFanny is an English form of Frances, which means “Frenchwoman”. Our records link it to American, English and Latin roots.

About the name Fanny

Fanny is a girl name of American, English and Latin origin meaning “Frenchwoman”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with F and ending in “-nny”. US birth records list Fanny for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked #182 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #6,325, with 18 babies.

Origin:American namesEnglish namesLatin names