Given name & surname
Hanna
“God is gracious”
Hanna has a related form in Hannah. Hannah’s Hebrew sense expresses being favoured by God, particularly the blessing of a child in its biblical context.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Arabic use, Hanna carries the interpretation “God is gracious.” Hanna has a related form in Hannah. Hannah’s Hebrew sense expresses being favoured by God, particularly the blessing of a child in its biblical context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Hanna is used as a form of John. Hanna has a related form in Hannah. The shared background comes through Hannah: Hannah preserves the Hebrew biblical form Hanna, whose meaning expresses favour from God.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Hanna has a related form in Hannah. The history of Hannah gives this family its wider story. In the biblical narrative, Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel. English Puritans adopted this form in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, alongside its continuing use as a Jewish name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Hanna through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 42,137
- 132 boys · 42,005 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 1,912 babies
- 2025
- 580
- #512 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +1%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 580 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 512 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 1.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,912 in 2000. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (81). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 45,248 as a first name in 2020; 41,220 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hanna’s family of names
In Danish usage, Hanna is a diminutive of Johanna. In Polish usage, Hanna shares an earlier linguistic root with Anna. Hanna is a form of John.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Hanna has relatives in 21 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
18 related names in 21 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hannahvariant · Swedish, Portuguese
- Annavariant · Polish
- Hanavariant · Czech, Slovak
- Johannafull form · Norwegian Bokmål, Finnish
- Haniaclipped form · Polish
- Hanahvariant
- Hannevariant · Norwegian Bokmål, Danish
- Ганнаvariant · Belarusian, Russian
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 23
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 14
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Hanna
- Hanna SchygullaGerman actress and chanson singer (born 1943)
- Hanna SuchockaPolish political figure, Prime Minister of Polandborn 1946
- Hanna ReitschGerman aviator (1912–1979)
- Hanna ÖbergSwedish biathleteborn 1995
- Hanna PakarinenFinnish pop and rock singerborn 1981
- Emilia RydbergSwedish female singer and songwriterborn 1978
- Hanna LjungbergSwedish association football playerborn 1979
- MaruvUkrainian singerborn 1991
- Hanna GlasSwedish association football playerborn 1993
Characters named Hanna: Hanna Marin (Pretty Little Liars book series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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—
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—
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