How to say it
HAN · nah
ˈhæn.ə
Feminine
Hannah
Favor, grace
What it means
Hebrew Channah, 'favor' or 'grace.' Mother of the prophet Samuel in the Hebrew Bible; her song of praise is one of the most quoted passages of the Old Testament.
Hannah comes from the Hebrew Channah, 'favor' or 'grace.' In the First Book of Samuel she's the long-childless wife of Elkanah who prays for a son at the temple at Shiloh; her son Samuel becomes the prophet who anoints Israel's first kings. Her song of thanksgiving in 1 Samuel 2 is the model for Mary's Magnificat in the Gospel of Luke. The Greek form is Anna, the Latin Anne or Anna; Hannah is the form closest to the Hebrew, and it's the form Protestant English-speakers favored after the Reformation. Steady top-50 since the 1990s. Hannah is one of the few names that's a palindrome, which some families like and some find a footnote.
How to spell Hannah
The standard spelling is Hannah. Common variants include Hanna, Anna, Anne, Channah, but Hannah is the most widely used form.
Popularity over time
peaked at #2 in 1998, currently #56 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–2025. Reviewed July 2026. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Hannah is a palindrome. Some families like that as a small grace note; others find it a footnote that comes up at school but doesn't otherwise register.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Hannah (Bible) Mother of the prophet Samuel; her song of thanksgiving is the model for Mary's Magnificat
- Hannah Arendt German-American political philosopher, The Origins of Totalitarianism
- Hannah Gadsby Australian comedian, Nanette
Spelling variants
- Hanna
- Anna
- Anne
- Channah
Names with the same feeling
See Hannah from another angle
By meaning
By style
Common questions
- What does the name Hannah mean?
- Hebrew Channah, 'favor' or 'grace.' Mother of the prophet Samuel in the Hebrew Bible; her song of praise is one of the most quoted passages of the Old Testament.
- What does Hannah mean in Hebrew?
- In Hebrew, Hannah means "Favor, grace." Hannah comes from the Hebrew Channah, 'favor' or 'grace.' In the First Book of Samuel she's the long-childless wife of Elkanah who prays for a son at the temple at Shiloh; her son Samuel becomes the prophet who anoints Israel's first kings. Her song of thanksgiving in 1 Samuel 2 is the model for Mary's Magnificat in the Gospel of Luke. The Greek form is Anna, the Latin Anne or Anna; Hannah is the form closest to the Hebrew, and it's the form Protestant English-speakers favored after the Reformation. Steady top-50 since the 1990s. Hannah is one of the few names that's a palindrome, which some families like and some find a footnote.
- How do you pronounce Hannah?
- Hannah is pronounced ˈhæn.ə. Say it as HAN-nah, with the stress on the "han" syllable.
- How do you spell Hannah?
- The standard spelling is Hannah. Common spelling variants include Hanna, Anna, Anne, Channah.
- Is Hannah a boy or girl name?
- Hannah is traditionally a feminine name.
- How popular is the name Hannah?
- Hannah ranked #56 in the U.S. in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.