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Hannah

♀ Girl

Pronounced HAN-uh /ˈhænə/High

Meaning: Grace; favor — from Hebrew Channah (favor, grace)High

In 30 seconds: A gentle Hebrew classic meaning 'grace and favor,' borne by the mother of Samuel in the Old Testament. Hannah has been a steadfast U.S. top-10 girls' name.
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Origin HighHebrew
MeaningGrace; favor — from Hebrew Channah (favor, grace)
Peak year2000
Total births (all-time)≈ 427,766

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 200018802017

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

History & Origin

Hannah comes from the Hebrew Channah, meaning grace or favor. In the Hebrew Bible (1 Samuel), Hannah is the wife of Elkanah who prays fervently for a child; her son Samuel becomes one of Israel's greatest prophets. Her prayer in 1 Samuel 2 is considered a model of personal piety and is echoed in Mary's Magnificat in the New Testament.

Hannah was carried into English through the Bible and became especially popular among Puritan families in the 17th century. It remained common through the 19th century, dipped in the early 20th, and staged a massive comeback from the 1980s onward. It entered the U.S. top 10 in the 1990s and stayed there for over a decade, ranking consistently among the most beloved Biblical girls' names.

Did you know? Hannah is a palindrome — it reads the same forwards and backwards — making it one of the few classic names with that playful mathematical property.

Variations

AnnaHannaHanaAnn

Nicknames

HanHanny

Famous Bearers

  • ★Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
    German-American political theorist and philosopher, author of The Origins of Totalitarianism.

If you like Hannah…

Grace— fellow short, classic virtue name with spiritual resonance
Naomi— Hebrew Biblical name that shares Hannah's elegance and depth
Leah— another Hebrew Old Testament women's name with a soft, classic feel
Anna— the Greco-Roman form of the same Hebrew root, equally timeless

Frequently Asked

What does the name Hannah mean?

Hannah is a Hebrew name meaning 'grace' or 'favor,' borne by the mother of the prophet Samuel in the Old Testament.

How do you pronounce Hannah?

It's said HAN-uh /ˈhænə/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Hannah a boy or girl name?

Hannah is used almost exclusively as a girls' name.

How popular is Hannah?

Hannah ranked in the U.S. top 10 girls' names from the late 1990s through the early 2010s and remains in the top 25.