Aneth may derive from Ann- names meaning grace, with a concise form found in several naming traditions.
Aneth is a name of quiet antiquity, threading through several linguistic traditions at once. In Old French and medieval English botanical vocabulary, "aneth" denoted dill — the feathery, aromatic herb whose Latin name is anethum, itself borrowed from the Greek ἄνηθον (anethon). Dill was among the most prized herbs of the ancient Mediterranean world: it appears in Egyptian medical papyri, in the records of Roman kitchens, and in the Gospel of Matthew among the tithed herbs of the Pharisees.
To name a child for a plant that has fed and healed human beings for four thousand years is to root her in something quietly essential. The name also has resonance in the ancient Near East, where Anath (a close variant) was a powerful Canaanite goddess of war, hunting, and vitality — sister and consort of Baal, a fierce protective deity who appears in Ugaritic texts and in the Hebrew Bible as a recurring figure of controversy. The biblical judge Shamgar is identified as "son of Anath," suggesting the name was also used in human contexts in the Levantine world.
Whether Aneth is understood as derived from this divine lineage or from the herbal tradition, it carries the signature of deep time. In contemporary use Aneth is genuinely rare, which may be its greatest appeal. It sounds ancient without being heavy, botanical without being whimsical. For parents drawn to names that require a small explanation and carry a real story, Aneth offers exactly that: a name with roots reaching down to the herb gardens of antiquity and the temples of the ancient world.