Definition of "Annie"

Maxwelton braes are bonnie / Where early fa's the dew; / An' it's there that Annie Laurie / Gi'ed me her promise true.

c. 1700, William Douglas(?), Annie Laurie

I never thought of the most brilliant and elegant women in England quite so charming as she really is, till I heard her call her younger sister "Annie". It seemed to remove at once the almost repellent quality which belongs to extreme polish, - gave a genial warmth to her brightness, became her like a smile. - - - If she had called her sister Anna-Maria according to the register, I should have admired, and feared, and shunned her to my dying day.

1830, Mary Russell Mitford, Our Village: Fourth Series: Cottage Names

"I want you to stop calling yourself by that silly name, Annie," Mrs. Marshall-Gill said clearly. "It's inappropriate and ridiculous and I don't like it. It may even be dishonest, I don't know. At any rate, you're to stop it at once. I looked up your registration, and your name is Annie, a solid, Christian name. You'll do well to abide by it.""I don't like Annie," Jewel said."It suits your face," Mrs. Marshall-Gill said. A titter ran around the listening room.

1947, Hilda Lawrence, Death of a Doll, pages 39–40