Annemarie is a combination of the names Anna and Marie. Anna is most likely a variant of a Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "gracious" or "favored", because in the Bible she was a sincere and merciful woman. Ultimately the name lost its initial 'h'. Anna was the name of many women belonging to Russian royalty, it is also the main character in 'Anna Karenina', a novel by Leo Tolstoy. Together with its many variations, Anna has been a popular female name for many centuries and is constantly topping the name charts. Marie is a variant of Maria, the name used in the New Testament, ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. There are several possible meanings of Miryam, some of them being: "lots of bitterness", "wished for child", "bitter", "rebellious". Mary is the name of different characters in New Testament, the most important ones being the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The name has been extremely popular for centuries, especially among Christians.