Hannah

חַנָּה

• Gender: Female
• Origin: Biblical English
• Meaning: He has favored me

• Hannah is the woman in the Book of Samuel who poured her heart out in prayer so fervently that the priest Eli thought she was drunk. Her story gave Judaism its very model for how to speak to God — silently, from the depths of the soul, with absolute sincerity. That legacy of purposeful devotion has kept Hannah beloved across centuries and continents.

  Equally at home in a synagogue, a Jane Austen novel, and a Brooklyn preschool — that is the rare versatility this name offers. Its perfect palindrome gives it a visual elegance that kids love to discover, and it ages from sweet to sophisticated without missing a beat. Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century's most influential political thinkers, proved this name belongs to women of towering intellect.

• Alternate Spellings: Hana, Hanna
• Hebrew Equivalent:
  Chana
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Sarah
  ,
  Abigail
  ,
  Jacob
  ,
  Micah
• Theme: positive qualities