Gender Feminine
Scripts חַנָּה(Hebrew) حنّة(Arabic)
Pronounced Pron. HAN-ə(English) HA-na(German) HAH-na(Dutch) HAN-nah(Arabic)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name חַנָּה (Channah) meaning "favour, grace", derived from the root חָנַן (chanan). In the Old Testament this is the name of the wife of Elkanah. Her rival was Elkanah's other wife Peninnah, who had children while Hannah remained barren. After a blessing from Eli she finally became pregnant with Samuel.

As an English name, Hannah was not regularly used until after the Protestant Reformation, unlike the vernacular forms Anne and Ann and the Latin form Anna, which were used from the late Middle Ages. In the last half of the 20th century Hannah surged in popularity and neared the top of the name rankings for both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Related Names

VariantsChana, Chanah, Hanna(Hebrew) Hanna, Hanne(German) Hanna(Dutch)
Other Languages & CulturesAna(Albanian) Anna(Armenian) Ane, Anne(Basque) Anna, Hanna(Belarusian) Anna(Biblical Greek) Channah(Biblical Hebrew) Anna(Biblical Latin) Anna, Annaig, Annick(Breton) Ana, Anna, Anelia, Aneliya, Aneta, Ani, Anka, Neli(Bulgarian) Aina, Anna(Catalan) Ana, Hana, Anica, Anita, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Jana(Croatian) Anna, Hana, Aneta(Czech) Anna, Anne, Hanna, Ane, Anette, Anika, Anita, Anja, Annette, Anni, Hanne(Danish) Anna, Anne, Anneli, Anni, Annika, Anu(Estonian) Anna(Faroese) Ana(Fijian) Anna, Anne, Hanna, Anita, Anja, Anneli, Anni, Anniina, Annika, Annikki, Annukka, Anu, Hannele, Niina(Finnish) Anne, Annette, Annick, Annie, Anny, Anouk, Ninon(French) Antje(Frisian) Ana, Anano, Ani, Anuki(Georgian) Anna(Greek) Anna, Hanna, Anett, Anikó, Anita, Panka, Panna, Panni(Hungarian) Anna, Hanna(Icelandic) Anna, Annetta(Italian) Anna, Anita(Latvian) Ona(Lithuanian) Anke, Antje(Low German) Ana, Aneta(Macedonian) Ann(Manx) Anna, Anne, Hanna, Anette, Anita, Anja, Annette, Anniken, Hanne(Norwegian) Anna(Occitan) Anna, Hanna, Aneta, Ania, Anika, Anita, Anka, Hania(Polish) Ana, Anita(Portuguese) Ana, Anca, Ancuța, Ani, Anișoara(Romanian) Anna, Ania, Annushka, Anya(Russian) Anna, Annag, Nandag(Scottish Gaelic) Ana, Anica, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Jana(Serbian) Anna, Hana(Slovak) Ana, Hana, Anica, Anika, Anita, Anja, Anka, Ankica, Anuša, Nuša(Slovene) Hana(Sorbian) Ana, Ani, Anita(Spanish) Anna, Anne, Hanna, Anette, Anita, Anja, Anneli, Annelie, Annette, Annica, Annika, Hanne(Swedish) Ana(Tongan) Anna, Ganna, Hanna(Ukrainian) Henda, Hendel, Hene, Henye(Yiddish)

People think this name is

classic   natural   wholesome   refined   simple  

Name Days

France: July 26

Images

Depiction of the biblical Hannah (the mother of Samuel) by Rembrandt (1631)Depiction of the biblical Hannah (the mother of Samuel) by Rembrandt (1631)

Categories

Entry updated November 20, 2020