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The first name 
Hannah

Hannah is a female first name. In very rare cases it is also used for boys.

The name Hannah is very popular!

The first name Hannah is one of the top 100 most popular girls names in the US – currently at #26 in our SmartGenius ranking. Over 1,000 babies each year are named Hannah, accounting for approximately 0.40 % of all newborn girls. In total, there are currently 440,750 people – children, adults and seniors – named Hannah living in the United States, which is approximately 0.13 % of the entire population.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Hannah

What does the name 
Hannah mean?

The origin of the first name Hannah lies in the Hebrew word ‘ḥannāh’, which means ‘favour’ or ‘grace’ or also ‘He (God) has favoured me with a child’. The name also exists as other spellings such as Hanna, Hana or Chana.

By the way… the first name Hannah is a palindrome in spelling. Read backwards, it results in exactly the same.

Hannah is a popular name with many famous namesakes

From Teenstar to Adult Actress

Hannah Dakota Fanning (*1994)
Hannah Dakota Fanning, actually known as Dakota Fanning, started her acting career as a child. At the age of seven she achieved recognition for performing as Lucy Dawson in the film 'I am Sam' (2001). She was cast early on for great movie productions such as the Twilight Saga (2008 - 2012) in which she portrayed Jane. Other notable movies and series she has appeared in include 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' (2019) or 'The Alienist' (2018

A Disney Character

Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is a fictional character in the Disney Channel TV series 'Hannah Montana,' which aired from 2006 to 2011. She is the alter ego of Miley Stewart, a teenage girl living a double life as a normal schoolgirl by day and a famous pop singer by night. The character was portrayed by Popstar Miley Cyrus (*1992). The eponymous lead of the Disney TV series was the most popular TV character among girls in 2011, according to polls. The show itself won numerous Kids and Teen Choice Awards.

A British-Canadian Actress

Hannah Simone (*1980)
Hannah Simone is a British-Canadian actress, television host, former VJ and fashion model. She is probably best known for portraying Cece Parekh on the Fox sitcom 'New Girl' which aired from 2011 to 2018. She also starred in popular movies such as 'Oldboy' (2013), 'Folk Hero & Funny Guy' (2016) or 'Killing Gunther' (2017). In addition, she hosted several TV shows.

Influential Political Philosopher

Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975)
Hannah Arendt was a Jewish German-US-American political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. In her mostly philosophical works, she deals primarily with power structures and sparked controversy especially with her book on the Eichmann trial (1963). After various stops fleeing anti-Jewish discrimination in Nazi Germany, she made her way to the U.S. in 1941.

A Multi-Faceted Model

Hannah Jeter (*1990)
Hannah Jeter is an American model and television host. She has appeared in several magazines such as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and modeled on runway shows for Victoria's Secret and Ralph Lauren. Further, she was the face of Ralph Lauren fragrance, Ralph Rocks, and hostet the reality television series 'Project Runway: Junior' from 2015-2017. She is married to retired professional baseball player Derek Jeter.

Go on a journey to places 
with your name

When you hear the name Hannah, you might first think of a woman or a girl. But did you know that there are also places with the name Hannah? Are you also called Hannah? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...

William Hannah, a pioneer settler...

is the eponym of Hannah Run, a stream in Adams County, Ohio. Stroll along the streamside and you'll eventually come across the historic Kirker Covered Bridge.

In Georgia or South Carolina...

you can respectivley jaunt to an incorporated community called Hannah. One of them is situated in Florence County while the other one is sited in southern Douglas County.

In 1871,...

during a Polaris expedition through Greenland an Inuit guide named Hannah Tookoolito helped discover Hannah Island. It lies in the mouth of Bessel Fjord.

Hannah is a small community at...

Mayfield Township in Michigan. It is a civil township with a population of about 1,800 residents. Along Hannah Road there are the local cemetery and a Catholic school.

Hannah -
a popular traditional name in the U.S.

History tends to focus on the most famous and best. But even those who play second fiddle leave their mark: Hannah is one of those names without which the orchestra would be incomplete. In fact, it has reached the SmartGenius top ranking #2 more than once. It wasn't that long ago, the last was in 2000, but even if the peak of popularity happened not that long ago, the name Hannah has been given to newborn girls every year since records began. Hannah is a name of exceptional enduring popularity, bringing the special spirit of the 20th century into the 21st.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Hannah was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

Hannah has arrived in the 21st century

The peak of popularity of the traditional name Hannah is only a short while ago: the name has definitely arrived in the 21st century. Hannah made it into the top ten more than once, in 2022 it ranked #45 in our statistics: the chances of meeting a Hannah are pretty high these days. Traditional names often turn out to be perennial favorites – so, who knows, perhaps Hannah will eventually become one of the most popular girls' names of all time.

Hannah -
well known in all states of the USA, most popular in Alaska

There are only 537 different women’s names registered in every single state in the U.S., and Hannah is one of them. However, Hannah is not equally widespread in all states, but people in Alaska seem to particularly fancy this name – the 1,315 women called Hannah who live here are 0,691% of all female residents and push their name up to #26, easily placing it in the top 100 most common female names in Alaska.

Hannah has 6 letters 
and begins with an H

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter H is quite rare as a first letter for girls' names: only 1.7% of all common girls' names in the US begin with H. The most common first letters of girls' names, by the way, are A, S and M, while U, X and Q are the least common initials of girls' names.

With six letters, the name Hannah is of average length. In fact, 28% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly six letters. 24% of all first names are shorter, while 48% have seven letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

Therefore: As 1.7% of all girls' names begin with an H, this initial letter is less common than the other letters on average. Interesting detail: of all the names that begin with an H, Helen is the most common.

Other names with 
H, a, n, n, a and h

If you take all the letters in the name Hannah – H, a, n, n, a and h – and put them together again, you can form another name, such as Hannha.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Hannah

If your name is Hannah and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Hannah

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Hannah, you can simply say:

Hat

Apple

Nut

Nut

Apple

Hat

This is how the name Hannah is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Hannah in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Hannah

Hannah

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Hannah

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Hannah is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

H
A
N
N
A
H

Have you ever waved the name Hannah

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

H
A
N
N
A
H

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Hannah sounds like this: