Hi, my name is Anna. Nothing special about my name, really. I’m sure you’ve met or know at least one other Anna in your life, since it was the 53rd most popular girl’s name in 2017.

The meaning behind my name is “grace” or “beautiful” according to multiple online sites. The meaning of “grace”, I don’t think fits me. My name is the color hot pink, written in big font with sparkly letters. It catches your attention. It reminds people of being young, and doing things they enjoy in life.

I wish I could say I had a meaningful and interesting story behind my name.  Interestingly, Anna wasn’t even my name for my whole life. For the first 24 hours of my life, my name was Mary. My mom then decided right before we were sent home from the hospital that Mary was “too religious” and felt like it didn’t fit me. She changed it to Anna Marie. The nurses were not too happy about the name change. Apparently name changing is frowned upon.

I realized a lot of people’s first impression of my name is “fun and girly”. My name is hot pink, written in big, bold, sparkly letters. Very early 2000’s vibes, like Britney Spears girly girl. If my name had a certain sound, it would be a Britney Spears song. If I was comparing it to a modern day artist, it would be Ariana Grande. Their songs are fun and make you feel happy. They remind you of having sleepovers with your friends on a Friday night, dancing in your bedroom at 2 AM. Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved dressing up and all things pink.  The name itself is so easy-going. Like a Sunday morning, when everyone’s happy and thinking of all the fun they had last night.

I don’t have a specific nickname that all my friends call me. The only nickname I have is one of my closest friends often calls me “A”. Sometimes my parents call me “Anna Banana”. Neither of these have a specific history, just something that rolls off the tongue. It’s easy, just like my name. 4 letters, easy to spell and remember.

I don’t think there was ever a time in my life that I have wanted a new name or felt like my name doesn’t fit me. I feel like I am always trying to make life fun, no matter what I’m doing. I think my name really reflects my personality.  I can recall talking with my friends about if we could change our names. What would we change them to. We all went around saying what each of us “looks like” and could be changed to. No one ever said they could see me as a different name except for Anna. I could change it to something shortened like “Ann” or “Annie” but I truly think just “Anna” fits me best.