Hananiah

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Locally spelled חנניה in IL Israel, MA Morocco, QA Qatar and 3 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Hananiah is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

  Also written Ḥananiah

29 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Hananiah is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The name Hananiah has Hebrew origins, meaning "God has favored" or "Yahweh is gracious." It appears multiple times in the Old Testament, most famously as the Hebrew name of Shadrach, one of Daniel's companions. The name carries a strong spiritual significance, evoking a sense of divine mercy and favor.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Hananiah, meaning "God is gracious," has deep biblical roots and conveys a sense of divine favor. His story is one of incredible courage and faith. As Shadrach, he famously survived a fiery furnace, making the name a symbol of resilience and unwavering conviction in the face of adversity.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Hananiah is a Hebrew theophoric name meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or "God has favored". The name Shadrach is of Babylonian origin, likely derived from Akkadian, with its meaning being uncertain. A common interpretation is "command of Aku," with Aku being the Babylonian god of the moon.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Hananiah is a biblical Hebrew name with the positive meaning, "Yahweh is gracious." While the name itself is beautiful, the most prominent biblical figure named Hananiah is the false prophet who opposed Jeremiah, a detail that might be considered by parents.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Hananiah is a Hebrew name with the beautiful meaning "God is gracious." In the Bible, it is the name of several individuals, including a skilled perfumer who used his talents to help rebuild Jerusalem's walls, symbolizing faith, community, and restoration.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Ananias ben Nedebaiosb. 50not in their usual name1st century AD High Priest of Israel
• Ananias of Damascusb. 100SYnot in their usual nameone of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus
• Chananya ben Akashyab. 100not in their usual nameJewish Tanna
• Anania Shirakatsib. 610AMnot in their usual nameArmenian scientist
• Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaumb. 1836SKnot in their usual nameHasidic rabbi (1836-1904)
• Hananiah Reichmanb. 1905ILIsraeli translator
• Chanania Gibshteinb. 1933ILnot in their usual nameformer mayor of Rishon Le Zion
• Hanania Baerb. 1943ILIsraeli cinematographer
• Nino Hermanb. 1952ILnot in their usual nameIsraeli photographer
• HaninahILnot in their usual name2nd century Jewish Tanna sage

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Hananiah mean, and where does it come from?

The Hebrew names mean: Hananiah ("Yah is gracious"), Mishael ("Who is what God is?"), and Azariah ("Yah has helped"). Recorded by Biblical Names Compiled Database.

Is Hananiah a male or female name?

Hananiah is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What are other forms of the name Hananiah?

In the etymology graph, Ananias, Chananya and Chananyah are forms of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Hananiah?

A machine transcription gives /hænənaɪə/ (IPA) for English.

In which country does Hananiah have the most bearers?

Mondonomo estimates about 6.0 thousand people named חנניה in Morocco, more than in any other country we hold.

Where is Hananiah most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Hananiah is densest in the United States — about 1 in 1.8 million people — even though Morocco holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Hananiah?

In the United States, the national register counted 180 people named Hananiah in 2020, about 1 in 1.8 million residents.

How common is Hananiah compared with other names?

In Morocco, Hananiah is the 346th most common given name of 41,711 given names recorded there.