Hannah (name)

Hannah (Hebrew: חַנָּה‬‎) (Arabic: حَنَّة‎),^[1] also spelt Hanna, Hana or Chana, is a Hebrew given name It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace"; 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 it has always been a common Jewish name.^[2] Ann, Anne, Anna derive from Hannah through Latin. The Phoenician (Punic) name Hannibal derives from the same Canaanite root and means "My grace is Baal".^[3] 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.^[4] Hannah is also sometimes given as the name of the woman with seven sons described in 2 Maccabees.

People with the given name Hannah

• Hannah Adams (1755-1831), American author
• Hannah Allen (1638-1668x1708), British writer
• Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), German philosopher
• Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo (1915-2015), Nigerian businesswoman and politician
• Hanna Brooman (1809-1887), Swedish composer, translator and educator
• Hannah Callowhill Penn (1671–1727), second wife of William Penn
• Hannah Cowley (1743–1809), American dramatist and poet
• Hannah Dreier, American journalist
• Hannah Duston (1657 – c. 1736), Indian fighter.
• Hannah Dakota Fanning (born 1994), American actress, better known as Dakota Fanning
• 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 Gross (born 1992), Canadian actress
• Hannah Flagg Gould (1789–1865), American poet
• 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
• Hanna Hermansson (born 1989), Swedish runner
• Hannah Höch (1889–1978), German Dada artist
• Hannah Ild (born 1981), Estonian singer
• Hannah Kallem (1865 — 1937), Norwegian-born American army nurse
• Hannah T. King (1808-1886), British-American writer, pioneer
• Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko (born 1989), Israeli triple jumper and long jumper
• Hannah Mancini (born 1980), 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 (born 1976), former majority leader and Speaker of the House in the Maine House of Representatives
• Hannah Pritchard (1711–1768), English actress
• Hannah Rigby (c. 1794 – 1853), Australian convict
• 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 (born 1981), 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 (1669/70-1703), first British person killed by a tiger
• Hannah Tyrrell (born 1990), Irish rugby player
• Hannah Van Buren (1783–1819), wife of the 8th president of the United States, Martin Van Buren
• Hannah Vogt (1910–1994), 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 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 Jaff (born 1986), American born Mexican-Kurd politician, philanthropist, human rights activist, and author
• Hanna Jaltner (born 1976), Swedish breaststroke swimmer
• Hanna Karasiova (born 1978), Belarusian archer
• Hanna Lindberg (1865-1951), Swedish politician, the first woman on a communal council (1910)
• Hanna Ljungberg (born 1979), Swedish soccer player
• Hanna Maron (born 1923), Israeli actress
• Hanna Neumann (1914–1971), German-born mathematician
• Hanna Newcombe (born 1922), Canadian peace activist
• Hanna Pakarinen (born 1981), Finnish pop singer
• Hanna van Recklinghausen (1332–?), Dutch banker
• Hanna Reitsch (1912–1979), German test pilot
• Hanna Rovina (1892–1980), Israeli actress and the original "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre"
• Hanna Scheuring (born 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 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

See also

• Anna (given name)
• Hanna (surname)
• Johanna
• Nancy (given name)

References