Revision History

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10/6/2024, 9:08 PM Mike C update #116
11/20/2020, 10:42 PM Mike C update #109
5/29/2020, 9:30 PM Mike C update #108
12/14/2019, 2:25 PM Mike C update #106
11/16/2019, 11:04 AM Mike C update #105
5/31/2018, 2:36 PM Mike C update #99
12/8/2017, 12:41 PM Mike C update #97
7/2/2017, 10:39 PM Mike C update #95
10/20/2016, 1:17 AM Mike C update #93
7/27/2015, 11:23 PM Mike C update #90
12/3/2014, 12:28 AM Mike C update #89
3/21/2014, 10:33 PM Mike C update #88
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Feminine
Scripts חַנָּה(Hebrew) حنّة(Arabic)
Pronounced Pron. /ˈhæn.ə/(English) /ˈha.na/(German) /ˈɦɑ.naː/(Dutch) /ˈħan.na/(Arabic)

Meaning & History

From the Hebrew name חַנָּה (Ḥanna) meaning "favour, grace", derived from the root חָנַן (ḥanan) meaning "to be gracious". 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.