Raggedy Ann and Andy

Illustration of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls on a white background

Raggedy Ann is a character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle in a series of children's books he wrote. The character was created in 1915 as a doll for his daughter Marcella. Gruelle combined the names of two poems by James Whitcomb Riley, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphan Annie," to create the name Raggedy Anne. He then introduced the character to the public in 1918 through the book Raggedy Ann Stories. A sequel in 1920 called Raggedy Andy Stories introduced Raggedy Andy as her brother.