Hannah

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Ana in BR Brazil, ES Spain, AR Argentina and 9 more, Ann in US United States, GB United Kingdom, PH Philippines and 2 more, Anna in PL Poland, NL Netherlands, DE Germany and 2 more and Анна in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, TR Türkiye.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 28 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Hannah is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name221K records spelled Hannah29 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, France, Philippines

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Han'Nah, Hąnnąh, Hännäh, Hannáh, Hannâh

• Indonesian given name14K records spelled Hannah4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, United States, Indonesia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Hànnah, Hanńâh

• Finnish given name6.1K records spelled Hannah3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, United Kingdom, Philippines

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Hannäh

• Turkish given name5.0K records spelled Hannah5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Türkiye, Philippines

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Uzbek

  Also written Hâñņàh, Hannàh

• Hungarian given name2.1K records spelled Hannah2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Hungary, Slovenia

  Also written Hánnáh

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Hannah is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• A timeless biblical name meaning 'grace' or 'favor', popular in both Jewish and Christian traditions.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Hannah is revered as a model of perseverance in prayer and faithfulness to vows. In Jewish tradition, she is counted among the seven prophetesses, and her manner of silent prayer influenced the rabbinic laws regarding the Amidah. In Christian typology, she prefigures the Virgin Mary.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, Form of Anne; once common in Ireland, also used as a pet form of Johanna and Nora.

  as a name·Irish first names

• Biblical name, borne by the mother of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1:2), Hebrew Hanna. It is derived from a Hebrew word meaning ‘He (i.e. God) has favoured me (i.e. with a child)’. See also Anne. This form of the name was taken up as a given name by the Puritans in the 16th and 17th centuries. origin). It may in part also be used as a pet form of Harding.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In German, a female given name from Biblical Hebrew, variant of Hanna

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Hannah Chaplinb. 1865GBEnglish stage and musical actress (1866–1928)
• Hannah Höchb. 1889DEGerman artist (1889–1978)
• Hannah Arendtb. 1906USGerman-American political theorist and philosopher (1906–1975)
• Rachel Weiszb. 1970GBnot in their usual nameBritish actress (born 1970)
• Hannah Waddinghamb. 1974GBBritish actress
• Hannah Harperb. 1982GBEnglish pornographic actress and director
• Jess Glynneb. 1989GBnot in their usual nameBritish singer (born 1989)
• Hannah John-Kamenb. 1989GBBritish actress
• Hannah Murrayb. 1989GBEnglish actress
• Dakota Fanningb. 1994USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (born 1994)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,397 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Hannah?

We estimate roughly 6.9 million people bear Hannah (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Hannah have the most bearers?

Hannah is most frequently recorded in Russia, where it is most often spelled анна.

How common is Hannah compared with other names?

In Russia, Hannah is the 15th most common given name of 418,751 given names recorded there.

Is Hannah a male or female name?

Hannah is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Hannah mean?

Recorded meaning: from the medieval female personal name Hannah or Anna, from Hebrew Ghana, ‘he has favoured me’