Likely a modern American coinage, possibly blending Anna and Nola, or a variant of Anola/Enola.
Anola is a name with plausible roots in multiple traditions, making its precise etymology a matter of appealing uncertainty. One line of derivation traces it to Cherokee and other Southeastern Native American languages, where variants of the word have been associated with meanings such as 'black fox' — an animal that carried spiritual significance as a symbol of cleverness and adaptability in several Indigenous traditions. The name Anola appears in historical records of the American South and border states from the nineteenth century onward, suggesting it was in genuine use among communities in those regions.
Anola may also be considered a feminine elaboration of Anna or Ana, ancient names rooted in the Hebrew Hannah (grace, favor), with a lyrical suffix added in the manner common to nineteenth-century American name formation — the same era that produced names like Ottola, Leola, Wanola, and dozens of similar coinages that blended familiar roots with melodic endings. In this reading, Anola is the product of vernacular creativity, a name made by ordinary people reaching for something that sounded beautiful and felt their own. Regardless of its precise origin, Anola carries a distinctive softness — three syllables that move like water, beginning with the open vowel that English ears associate with invitation and warmth.
It appears in the historical record strongly enough to feel genuine rather than invented, yet rarely enough to feel truly individual. The small Canadian city of Anola in Manitoba, named in the early twentieth century, gives the name a geographic anchor in the northern plains, adding quiet regional resonance to a name that already carries the quality of somewhere specific and quietly lovely.