Given name
Elhanan
“God is gracious”
Elhanan is a variant of Elchanan. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is gracious.”
Original Hebrewאלחנן
Meaning & origin
What it means
Elhanan is a variant of Elchanan. One Hebrew interpretation is “God is gracious.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Elhanan is a variant of Elchanan. An origin associated with Elchanan is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From the Hebrew word 'el (אל), “God,” and the Hebrew verb hanan (חנן), “to be gracious.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2018. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Elhanan appears in 2 Samuel 21:19, 1 Chronicles 20:5.
- 2 Samuel 21:19
- 1 Chronicles 20:5
From biblical name research
Elhanan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22
- 22 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,562 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,562 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 2018.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Elhanan’s family of names
Elhanan has a related form in Elchanan.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 15
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Elhanan
- Elhanan HelpmanIsraeli-American economistborn 1946
- Elhanan TannenbaumIsraeli Defence Forces' Colonel (1946–2024)
- Elhanan GlazerIsraeli politicianborn 1947
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Elhanan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.