Hannibal

If you like the name Hannibal and you want to name your kid that you simply should go for Hanno, Hanno is simple and has a similar sound as well as origin and meaning but doesn't have the unfortunate association that Hannibal has.

For obvious reasons, which I don't even need to state, Hannibal isn't exactly the type of name one should aspire to use for their child. (Not that many would of course, but I think my statement is still valid).

Why would you choose this name? It sounds exactly like cannibal. People saying it's "devious yet charming" you mean exactly like the characteristics of a psychopathic cannibal, who is called Hannibal because of how similar it sounds to cannibal.

I just think of the town.

I don't think it is a good name for a real person, however is a good name for a fictional character, like an RPG character.

Very devious, but all I can think of is Hannibal Lector.

Hannibal is an amazing name! Hannibal was a great legendary carthaginian general and commander that made the Roman Empire shake to its ground with his furious elephants. Thanks to him, there is a beautiful city called Carthagena in Spain and indirectly thanks to him another beautiful city also called Carthagena in Colombia!

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Whoever is confusing the name with a movie fictional character is just lame. Educate yourself, open a book.

Name of the day June 7, 2021. Personally, I hate it. Sounds way too much like cannibal. It has potential, but it’s not for me.

I would love to have the name Hannibal, it has a nice tone to it.

Middle name quality.

This name is a guilty pleasure of mine; I genuinely like the way it looks and sounds. I might find it humorous and charming as a name for a cat. Due to its associations, though, it's clearly not a good name for a child.

Replace the H with a C and see what you get.

It’s not cannibal, it’s the sound I don’t like.

It's wayyy too close to the word "cannibal", and the Dr. Hannibal Lecter association would be terrible to live with. I think I'll pass on this one.

My name is Hannibal, and I live in Denmark. I've had a lot of struggles, where people either can't spell the name, people singing a danish song which includes the name, and people associating it with Hannibal the Cannibal. I feel very away from the others at school, because of my weird name, and the fact that I'm a lot smaller than most of the others. I'm 19 years old, and I am really considering a name change. I have a hard time every time I need to introduce myself, because people can't hear what I'm saying, because every time I say the full name I'm ashamed of it. My parents thought I was very cute when I was little, I always smiled. Now I also smile, but I hate my life. I hope you won't put your child through the same.

Read what claw1997 typed. Don't do this to your kid.

Hannibal sounds like a name a surgeon would have.

Don't like the sound of it at all, and only think of the word "cannibal".

Oy. Where to start?

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On the positive side, the name Hannibal has the honour of having a famous Carthaginian military commander. Hannibal also has a mischievous sound to it, in my opinion. I can picture it on a boy who is fiery, mischievous and yet has a nice streak and is sophisticated among his colleagues.

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On the negative side, there is only one person most people think of when they hear this name: Dr. Hannibal Lecter, or Hannibal the Cannibal, a notorious serial killer known for taking portions of his victim's flesh and making it into a gourmet dish on his whim.

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Hannibal, however, is a good name for a kid if you don't mind the namesake. But it would be amusing if the little one was a vegetarian.

I love the name Hannibal. Very classy.

I hate the way it sounds. I don't see any appeal in this name.

Ever since I first heard the name Hannibal, watching Meerkat Manor, I've thought it's a cool name. It's been used for a meerkat, the one-eyed leader of the Commandos group, in Meerkat Manor, and in one of my stories, I've used it for a hyena. Sure, animals seem to get a bunch of cool names (Merrick, anyone?), but Hannibal has to be one of my favorites.

I love the sound of this name. I just hate that it is associated with Ba'al so I'd never use it.

I agree with some of the other users: I think it's a real shame that the name is always associated with Hannibal Lecter of the book/movies, because the name itself is very cute. I would even give a son Hannibal as a second name. I also really love the sib combo Hannibal & Mischa/Misha of the movie Hannibal Rising.

Unless you're a worshiper of Ba'al, this is a name you should DEFINITELY stay away from.

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Besides, the name Ba'al conjures up the sight of a giant tall bull (in my head!).

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Save your kid's dignity - even before (s)he is born.

All I can think about is the serial killer, the cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lector. I guess it is kind of a cute name if you have never heard of "The Silence of the Lambs," and you don't associate it with that, but the movie is pretty much a classic and people won't forget about it soon, at least in most English-speaking countries.

I don't know about using this, especially after it became associated with Hannibal Lecter. If you're of Spanish or Italian descent it would work fine, since forms of the name are used there, but in English it would look ridiculous.

It really is a wonderful name. If it weren't so associated with Hannibal Lector, it could be a wonderful name for a child these days.

All I see is Hannibal the Cannibal. :)

Cannibal!

I don't like this as a name. It's rather oxymoronic, since Ba'al was not a god of grace. But for the Caananites it was seen as a very good name. Probably the only thing keeping him from getting sacrificed to Molech as a kid.

Hannibal is such a cute name if you don't think about Hannibal Lecter.

I really like this name. It's a shame that it is automatically associated with Hannibal Lector.