Anais is the Occitan and Catalan form of Anna, which comes from the Hebrew Hannah and means "grace" or "favor"; in French it is written Anaïs. The name is known worldwide through the diarist Anaïs Nin and the French perfume Anaïs Anaïs. In the United States Anais entered the top 1000 in 2018, peaked at number 825 in 2021 and ranks 892nd in 2025.