Hannah (name)

Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, or Chana, is a given name. In the Hebrew language, the root of Ḥannah (חַנָּה) means 'favour'; A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me [with a child]'.

The Hannah spelling of the name was taken up as a given name by the Puritans in the 16th and 17th centuries, and has always been a common Jewish name.^[1] Ann, Anne, Anna, and variants derive from Hannah. The Punic name Hannibal derives, it is supposed, from the same root. Hannah is a palindrome.

In the Books of Samuel, Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel. Hannah was infertile, so at temple she prayed that if God gave her a son, she would give him up to become a priest. After many years of praying she was blessed with a son, and named him Samuel. When the child was weaned (around 3 years old), Hannah gave him to Eli to be raised as a priest. She went on to have 5 more children.^[2] Hannah is also sometimes given as the name of the Woman with seven sons described in 2 Maccabees.

In 2014, the Social Security Administration ranked Hannah the 23rd most popular name for girls in the United States.http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/name-meaning/hannah

People with the given name Hannah:

• Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), German philosopher
• Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo (born 1915), businesswoman and politician
• Hannah Callowhill Penn (1671–1727), second wife of William Penn
• Hannah Cowley (1743–1809), American dramatist and poet
• Hannah Dakota Fanning American actress, better known as Dakota Fanning
• Hannah Duston (1657 – c. 1736) Indian fighter.
• Hannah Friedman (born 1986), American writer, director, and musician
• Hannah Gadsby (born 1978), Australian comedian
• Hannah Glasse (1708–1770), English cookbook writer
• Hannah Gordon (born 1941), Scottish actress
• Hannah Harper (born 1982), English pornographic actress
• Hannah Hart (born 1986), American internet personality, comedian, actress and author
• Hannah Hauxwell (born 1926), Yorkshire Dales farmer
• Hannah Höch (1889–1978), German Dada artist
• Hannah Ild (born 1981), Estonian singer
• Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko (born 1989), Israeli triple jumper and long jumper
• Hannah Mancini, American-Slovenian singer
• Hannah More (1745–1833), English religious writer and philanthropist
• Hannah Peel (born 1984), Northern Irish musician
• Hannah Peckham (born 1980), British game show host
• Hannah Pingree, majority leader from Maine in the United States House of Representatives
• Hannah Pritchard (1711–1768), English actress
• Hannah Robinson, British songwriter
• Hannah Spearritt (born 1981) English singer and actress
• Hannah Stockbauer (born 1982), German swimmer
• Hannah Storm (born 1962), American co-host of The Early Show
• Hannah Szenes (1921–1944), Hungarian Jew arrested during the Second World War
• Hannah Tan, Malaysian singer-songwriter
• Hannah Taylor-Gordon (born 1987) English actress, Anne Frank: The Whole Story
• Hannah Teter (born 1987), American snowboarder
• Hannah Tointon (born 1987), British actress
• Hannah Twynnoy, First British person killed by tiger
• Hannah Van Buren (1783–1819), wife of the 8th president of the United States, Martin Van Buren
• Hannah Vogt (1910–1994), a German historian
• Hannah Webster Foster (1758–1840), American novelist
• Hannah Weiner (1928–1997), American poet
• Hannah Whelan (born 1992), British gymnast
• Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911), American lay speaker and author during the Holiness movement
• Hannah Wilke (1940–1993), American painter, sculptor and photographer
• Hannah Wilson (born 1989), Hong Kong Olympic swimmer.
• Hannah Wood (born 1983), American poet and actress, sister of Elijah Wood
• Hannah (Australian singer), Australian pop singer

People with the given name Hanna:

• Hanna Alström (born 1981), Swedish actress
• Hanna Fahl (born 1978), Swedish music journalist and translator
• Hanna Grönvall (1879–1953), Swedish politician
• Hanna Hammarström (1829–1909), Swedish inventor
• Hanna Holborn Gray (born 1930), American historian and professor
• Hanna Jaltner (born 1976), Swedish breaststroke swimmer
• Hanna Karasiova (born 1978), Belarusian archer
• Hanna Lindberg, Swedish politician, the first woman in a communal council (1910)
• Hanna Ljungberg (born 1979), Swedish soccer player
• Hanna Meron (born 1923), Israeli actress
• Hanna Newcombe (born 1922), Canadian peace activist
• Hanna Pakarinen (born 1981), Finnish pop singer
• Hanna van Recklinghausen (born 1332), banker
• Hanna Reitsch (1912–1979), German test pilot
• Hanna Rovina (1892–1980), Israeli actress and the original "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre"
• Hanna Scheuring (15 Juni 1965), Swiss actress and theatre director
• Hanna Schygulla (born 1948), German actress and singer
• Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington (1877–1946), Irish feminist, wife of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
• Hanna Suchocka (born 1946), Prime Minister of Poland from 1992–1993
• Hanna Styrell (1842–1904), Swedish actress
• Hanna Zemer (1925–2003), Israeli journalist

People with the given name Chana:

• Chana Orloff (1888–1968), Ukraine-born sculptor

Fictional characters:

• Hannah Abbott, character in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• Hannah Annafellows, character in the 2010 Black Butler anime sequel. Voiced by Aya Hirano
• Hannah Ashworth, character portrayed by Emma Rigby on the English soap opera Hollyoaks
• Hannah McKay, character portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski on the Showtime TV series Dexter.
• Hannah Martin, character portrayed by Rebecca Ritters on the Australian soap opera Neighbours
• Hannah Montana, alter ego of Miley Cyrus' character in the television show of the same name
• Hanna Marin a character from the TV and Book series Pretty Little Liars and in the TV series is portrayed by Ashley Benson

Biblical characters:

• Hannah (Bible), a character from the Books of Samuel
• Saint Anne or Hannah, the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus

See also

• Anna (given name)
• Hana (given name)
• Hannah (surname)
• Johanna
• Nancy (given name)

References