Annette is the French diminutive of Anne — from the Hebrew Channah ("grace, favor"). A top-50 US baby name from 1954 to 1966, peaking at #38 in 1962. Annette Bening (born 1958) — *American actress; five Academy Award nominations — The Grifters (1990), American Beauty (1999), Being Julia (2004), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Nyad (2023); two Golden Globe Awards; widely considered one of the finest American screen actresses never to win a competitive Oscar. Annette Funicello (1942-2013) — American actress and singer; the most-popular original Mouseketeer on Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959); star of the 1960s "Beach Party" films with Frankie Avalon; Disney Legend (1992); her public battle with multiple sclerosis raised awareness for the disease. Annette Bening received the AFI tribute and Kennedy Center recognition. Annette Kellerman (1886-1975) — Australian swimmer and "the Million Dollar Mermaid"; popularized the one-piece women's bathing suit and synchronized swimming. Annette Crosbie — British actress (One Foot in the Grave). Annette (2021)* — Leos Carax musical film with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard; won Best Director at Cannes.
Featured throughout 20th-century American film and culture.
Annette does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Annette reduce to 7, The Seeker. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.