Fanny (name)

Fanny is a feminine given name. It originated as a diminutive of the English given name Frances or the French Françoise, both meaning "free one", and of the Spanish name "Estefanía" and the French name Stéphanie, both meaning "crown". Fanny was a popular independent given name as well as a diminutive of other popular names in the 18th and 19th centuries. Usage of the name has been steadily declining in the Anglosphere since the end of the 19th century. In British English, fanny has been a vulgar slang term for vagina or vulva since the 1830s. In American English, fanny is a slang term for the buttocks that has been in use since World War I. In New Zealand in 2023, the Registrar-General declined to accept the name for a baby's birth certificate because it might cause offense. The name Fanny or Fannie has remained well-used in other languages and other countries. In the United States, the name Fanny and the spelling variant Fannie are still well-used by the Amish cultural group, who speak Pennsylvania Dutch. The name also remains in regular use in other countries, including France, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, and Sweden.