Annalise

About Annalise

Annalise combines Anna and Lise, bringing two traditional names into one continuous form. It is used in Danish and modern English and belongs beside names such as Anneliese and Annelise. For contemporary television audiences, Annalise Keating gives it a particularly recognizable association with legal drama.

Two names within one

Anna is a Greek and Latin form of the Hebrew Hannah, meaning “favour” or “grace.” It has travelled widely as a full name in its own right. In Annalise, the opening Anna remains visible, giving the combined name a familiar beginning.

Lise is a short form of Elisabeth or Elizabeth. That family goes back to the Hebrew Elisheva, usually interpreted as “my God is an oath.” Lise has its own life as a given name as well as a shortening, so Annalise joins two recognizable naming elements.

Both components have biblical histories. Hannah is the mother of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, while Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament. Their later Greek and Latin forms travelled through European languages, eventually producing the familiar Anna and Lise joined in Annalise.

Anneliese and Annelise are close relatives with a different spelling at the join. Annalisa gives the ending an a instead. The visible balance between a traditional Anna opening and a lighter Lise ending is a defining feature of Annalise.

Annalise Keating

Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder, is a criminal defence lawyer and law professor. The character’s courtroom work, teaching, and complicated personal relationships form the centre of the series.

The name became associated with a formidable adult character whose authority is repeatedly tested by the people and cases around her. The series explores the distance between her professional command and a private life shaped by loss, secrecy, and difficult loyalties.

Davis won the 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Annalise. The award belongs to the actor’s performance, giving the character’s name a concrete connection to a major television achievement. It is one of the clearest modern cultural references for this spelling.

Related forms and everyday use

Anna and Lise can each be used independently, while Annalise presents them as a single name. Annie is a possible informal shortening drawn from the beginning. Keeping the full form preserves the contrast between its open vowels and its more pointed final consonant.

Annalisa and Anneliese offer closely related alternatives. Names such as Annabelle share the practice of joining familiar elements, although their second components have a different history.

American popularity

Annalise’s largest annual American total for girls was 825 in 2016, when it ranked #404. In 2025, 764 girls received it, ranking #409. The exact spelling has therefore remained in a broadly similar part of the rankings despite some change in its annual total. Other spellings in the same family have separate records.

How popular is Annalise?

In 2025, Annalise ranked #409 among girls in the United States, with 764 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1965; its largest annual count was 825 in 2016. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.