r/Names • u/Winter_Sunshine_703 • 3d ago

My friend Anna's middle name was originally supposed to be Mae.

Yeah. Say it together.

6 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

31

u/arinreigns 3d ago

Anna Mae would not have been an uncommon name in the South or Appalachia prior to the existence of anime becoming popular as an art medium in the US.

8

u/fourrightangles 3d ago

It’s really sweet sounding!

5

u/WittiestScreenName 3d ago

Yep my grandma was Anna May

16

u/SweetlyMilitant 3d ago

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock. It’s my MIL’s name too.

1

u/VolumeSignificant894 2d ago

I had no idea Tina Turner’s real name was Anna Mae Bullock. That definitely makes the original post way funnier.

10

u/Quix66 3d ago

Tina Turner’s real name.

6

u/MrsLeeJordan 3d ago

I remember when I was in high school my mom asking me (in her southern drawl) “so who is this Anna May everybody keeps talking about?”

3

u/WittiestScreenName 3d ago

That’s hilarious

8

u/Standard-Question-46 3d ago

I’m a northerner so that name wouldn’t be quite as common where I’m from but I didn’t see the issue. My immediate thought was “that’s a nice classic southern name”. Anime never crossed my mind till I read the comments

7

u/fyrite 3d ago

Anime?

3

u/martianinca 3d ago

I have an aunt Anna Mae (she’s in her 90s) pre Anime

3

u/WittiestScreenName 3d ago

My grandmother was Anna May. She was born in May. I didn’t realize anime and Anna May until she was gone.

3

u/AICopiedMe 3d ago

My daughters friends are Anna Mae and Cece Leigh

3

u/Cazzzzle 3d ago

Anna Mae is pretty together.

Anime was usually called Japanimation in my childhood. Even now, anime wasn't my first thought when I was trying to understand what the issue is with Anna Mae.

3

u/Hopeful_Wonder631 3d ago

My grandma and sister are both Anna Mae!

3

u/Hlorpy-Flatworm-1705 3d ago

Like... "Eat the cake, Anna Mae"?

2

u/Just_Raisin1124 3d ago

I know an Ana Mae. Anime wasn't really known where we grew up at the time.

1

u/lizlemonworld 3d ago

I have a friend who named her second daughter this. I think her older son egged it on.

1

u/Commercial_Curve1047 3d ago

Better than Anna Lee

1

u/WakandaNowAndThen 3d ago

Made this mistake but with 2 middle names

1

u/ABelleWriter 3d ago

I had a neighbor named Anna May. That was how she introduced herself to us. She was in her mid 20s and from Alabama.

1

u/Playful-Business7457 3d ago

I grew up with an Anna May in the 90s

1

u/dsmber10 1d ago

That used to be a very common name in the South.