'Annelise' originates from German, specifically the name 'Anneliese', where 'Anne' comes from the Hebrew name 'Hannah' meaning 'grace' and 'Liese' is a diminutive of 'Elisabeth' meaning 'God is my oath'.

'Annelise' changed from the German name 'Anneliese' (and related Dutch forms like 'Annelies') and was adopted into English usage as the modern given name 'Annelise'.

Initially, the components meant 'grace' and 'God is my oath', but over time the combination has come to function primarily as a personal name without a literal, commonly considered semantic meaning.