How popular is the baby name Hannah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Hannah.

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Popularity of the baby name Hannah


Posts that mention the name Hannah

What gave the baby name Jana a boost in 1979?

The title character from the animated series "Jana of the Jungle" (1978).
Jana from “Jana of the Jungle“

The name Jana saw a sudden increase in usage in 1979, according to the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1981: 939 baby girls named Jana [rank: 267th]
  • 1980: 1,046 baby girls named Jana [rank: 247th]
  • 1979: 1,161 baby girls named Jana [rank: 226th]
  • 1978: 959 baby girls named Jana [rank: 248th]
  • 1977: 949 baby girls named Jana [rank: 261st]

Why?

Because of the short-lived cartoon Jana of the Jungle, which consisted of 13 episodes that aired during the last months of 1978 (September to December).

The Tarzan-inspired main character Jana (pronounced JA-nuh; rhymes with Hannah and Vanna) lived in the rain forest of South America along with her animal friends and several other humans. She defended the jungle with the help of her necklace, which doubled as a throwing weapon (similar to a chakram).

Interestingly, the name topped out at 226th (rankings-wise) in both 1961 and 1979 — despite the fact that about 300 fewer babies were named Jana in 1979 than in 1961.

Sources: Jana of the Jungle – Wikipedia, SSA

Top baby names in Germany, 2022

Flag of Germany
Flag of Germany

The country of Germany is located in Central Europe and bordered by nine other countries (including Poland, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark).

Last year, Germany welcomed roughly 739,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? We don’t know for sure, because Germany (like Japan) doesn’t release official baby name rankings. But two unofficial sets of rankings agree that Germany’s top baby names of 2022 were likely Emilia and Noah.

Here are the sources of the two sets of rankings:

  • The Society for the German Language (GfdS), which obtained data from more than 750 German registry offices. This data accounts for over 92% of all the first names bestowed in Germany in 2022.
  • Name researcher Knud Bielefeld, who obtained data from registry offices and maternity hospitals in 423 German cities. His data accounts for about 34% of all the babies born in Germany in 2022.

On both lists, differently spelled versions of the same name were combined.

Let’s start with the Society for the German Language (GfdS) list.

Girl Names (GfdS)

  1. Emilia
  2. Sophia/Sofia
  3. Emma
  4. Mia
  5. Hannah/Hanna
  6. Lina
  7. Mila
  8. Ella
  9. Clara/Klara
  10. Marie

Boy Names (GfdS)

  1. Noah
  2. Matteo/Mateo/Mattheo/Matheo
  3. Leon
  4. Finn
  5. Paul
  6. Elias
  7. Emil
  8. Luca/Luka
  9. Louis/Luis
  10. Henry/Henri

And now, Bielefeld’s list.

Girl Names (Bielefeld)

  1. Emilia
  2. Mia
  3. Sophia
  4. Emma
  5. Hannah
  6. Lina
  7. Mila
  8. Ella
  9. Leni
  10. Clara

Boy Names (Bielefeld)

  1. Noah
  2. Matteo
  3. Elias
  4. Finn
  5. Leon
  6. Theo
  7. Paul
  8. Emil
  9. Henry
  10. Ben

Bielefeld also noted that the boy name Nelio was on the rise thanks to German influencer Dagi Bee (birth name: Dagmar Ochmanczyk), who welcomed a son named Nelio in December of 2021.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2022

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland, which is located on the island of Ireland, is actually part of the United Kingdom (along with Scotland, England, and Wales — all of which are located on the next-door island of Great Britain).

Last year, Northern Ireland welcomed 20,929 babies — 10,242 girls and 10,687 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Grace and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Grace, 168 baby girls
  2. Emily, 152
  3. Fiadh, 148 – pronounced FEE-a
  4. Olivia, 141
  5. Isla, 118
  6. Aoife, 113 – pronounced EE-fa
  7. Lily, 110
  8. Annie, 97
  9. Evie, 94 (tie)
  10. Freya, 94 (tie)
  11. Amelia, 91
  12. Ella, 88
  13. Charlotte, 87
  14. Ava, 84 (tie)
  15. Sophia, 84 (tie)
  16. Anna, 80 (tie)
  17. Erin, 80 (tie)
  18. Eabha, 74 – pronounced EY-va
  19. Katie, 72 (tie)
  20. Ruby, 72 (tie)
  21. Maisie, 71 (tie)
  22. Sophie, 71 (tie)
  23. Lucy, 70
  24. Ellie, 69
  25. Aria, 65
  26. Niamh, 64 – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  27. Molly, 59 (tie)
  28. Rosie, 59 (tie)
  29. Clodagh, 57 (tie) – pronounced KLOH-da
  30. Mia, 57 (tie)
  31. Hannah, 56
  32. Meabh, 55 (tie) – pronounced mayv
  33. Willow, 55 (tie)
  34. Elsie, 54
  35. Cora, 52 (tie)
  36. Phoebe, 52 (tie)
  37. Ada, 51
  38. Bonnie, 49 (tie)
  39. Isabella, 49 (tie)
  40. Eva, 48 (4-way tie)
  41. Georgia, 48 (4-way tie)
  42. Ivy, 48 (4-way tie)
  43. Sadie, 48 (4-way tie)
  44. Cara, 47 (tie)
  45. Harper, 47 (tie)
  46. Emma, 46 (tie)
  47. Zara, 46 (tie)
  48. Chloe, 45 (tie)
  49. Rose, 45 (tie)
  50. Poppy, 44 (tie)
  51. Saoirse, 44 (tie) – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha

Boy names

  1. James, 175 baby boys
  2. Jack, 169
  3. Noah, 146
  4. Theo, 132
  5. Charlie, 131
  6. Oliver, 123
  7. Oisin, 119 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Harry, 118
  9. Cillian, 111 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  10. Thomas, 107
  11. Leo, 106
  12. Finn, 98
  13. Tommy, 97
  14. Daniel, 90
  15. Alfie, 87
  16. Luca, 83
  17. Freddie, 81
  18. Arthur, 80
  19. Jacob, 79
  20. Jude, 77
  21. Luke, 74 (tie)
  22. Ollie, 74 (tie)
  23. Caleb, 72 (tie)
  24. Ronan, 72 (tie)
  25. Ethan, 69
  26. Darragh, 67
  27. Shea, 65
  28. Rory, 64
  29. Archie, 63 (tie)
  30. Joshua, 63 (tie)
  31. Adam, 62 (3-way tie)
  32. Jonah, 62 (3-way tie)
  33. Matthew, 62 (3-way tie)
  34. Daithi, 61 – pronounced DAH-hee
  35. Ezra, 60 (3-way tie)
  36. Michael, 60 (3-way tie)
  37. Odhran, 60 (3-way tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  38. George, 59
  39. Reuben, 58
  40. Henry, 57 (4-way tie)
  41. Isaac, 57 (4-way tie)
  42. Logan, 57 (4-way tie)
  43. Teddy, 57 (4-way tie)
  44. Jake, 55 (tie)
  45. Max, 55 (tie)
  46. Mason, 54
  47. Alexander, 53
  48. Conan, 52 (3-way tie)
  49. Conor, 52 (3-way tie)
  50. Joseph, 52 (3-way tie)

The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Pippa, Nevaeh, Lucia, Croia, and Maeve.

The fastest-rising names in the boy’s top 100 were Hugo, Luca, Hudson, Rian, and Nathan.

And here’s a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum — names that were given to just 3 babies each in Northern Ireland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aeza, Banba/Banbha, Brilliana, Cobhlaith, Della, Eilish, Faoiltiarna, Glencia, Hetty, Israella, Jersey, Kevia, Lilium, Marcy, Neansai, Orlaithi, Prim, Rhaenyra, Simona, Tiggy, Una, Yvonne, ZuzuAlvie, Bonyo, Caolach, Dubhaltach, Evenezer, Fazza, Ghyth, Hamish, Igor, Jivko, Kylian, Lughaidh, Maui, Norrin, Olcan, Plunkett, Rupert, Selkie, Tuathal, Ugnius, Vivaan, Windsor, Yaurik, Zeki

Some explanations/associations for a few of the above…

  • Banba – a goddess in Irish mythology.
    • Banbha – the modern spelling of Banba.
  • Faoiltiarna – an Irish name made up of the elements faol, “wolf,” and tighearna, “lord.”
  • Olcan – a 5th-century Irish saint associated with the village of Armoy in County Antrim.
  • Rhaenyra – a character from the TV series House of the Dragon (a prequel to Game of Thrones).
  • Selkie – a seal/human shapeshifter in Celtic (as well as Norse) mythology.

Finally, let’s take a look at middle names. About 86% of the girls and 89% of the boys born in Northern Ireland last year were given at least one middle name. The middles chosen most often were…

  • Rose, Grace, Elizabeth, Mary, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, Michael, and Thomas (for boys).

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing more Irish name pronunciations, just click that link.

Sources: Baby Names 2022 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Northern Ireland – Wikipedia, Faoiltiarna – Oxford Reference

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular baby names in Canada, 2021 (official)

Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada

Canada has released national baby name rankings, everyone!

After years of making due with rankings for individual Canadian provinces and territories, we now have data that covers the entire country.

Ironically, Canada announced its new baby name rankings just a few of months after I attempted (out of frustration) to use the regional lists to make an educated guess about Canada’s top 5 overall. How funny.

So let’s not put it off any longer — here are Canada’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 2,032 baby girls
  2. Emma, 1,715
  3. Charlotte, 1,579
  4. Amelia, 1,308
  5. Ava, 1,105 (tie)
  6. Sophia, 1,105 (tie)
  7. Chloe, 1,088
  8. Mia, 1,017
  9. Mila, 936
  10. Isla, 922
  11. Alice, 879
  12. Sofia, 878
  13. Lily, 810
  14. Zoe, 784
  15. Ella, 781
  16. Evelyn, 779
  17. Charlie, 777
  18. Ellie, 727
  19. Abigail, 716
  20. Nora, 715
  21. Sophie, 709
  22. Maya, 702
  23. Aria, 680
  24. Eva, 677
  25. Emily, 673
  26. Hannah, 670
  27. Clara, 659
  28. Isabella, 643
  29. Elizabeth, 636
  30. Florence, 612
  31. Rose, 604
  32. Ivy, 596
  33. Avery, 594
  34. Harper, 592
  35. Luna, 585
  36. Violet, 580
  37. Scarlett, 568
  38. Hazel, 549
  39. Zoey, 548
  40. Livia, 546
  41. Victoria, 540
  42. Lea, 528
  43. Grace, 527
  44. Julia, 522
  45. Willow, 501
  46. Eleanor, 499
  47. Madison, 493
  48. Anna, 478 (tie)
  49. Layla, 478 (tie)
  50. Rosalie, 474

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 2,393 baby boys
  2. Liam, 1,967
  3. William, 1,684
  4. Leo, 1,559
  5. Benjamin, 1,433
  6. Theodore, 1,425
  7. Jack, 1,365
  8. Thomas, 1,318
  9. Logan, 1,314
  10. Oliver, 1,310
  11. Jacob, 1,293
  12. Lucas, 1,241
  13. James, 1,221
  14. Nathan, 1,199
  15. Ethan, 1,145
  16. Jackson, 1,065
  17. Owen, 987
  18. Adam, 978
  19. Henry, 957
  20. Felix, 918
  21. Levi, 905
  22. Gabriel, 903
  23. Theo, 877
  24. Arthur, 847
  25. Charles, 844
  26. Samuel, 801
  27. Hudson, 761
  28. Alexander, 742
  29. Mason, 711
  30. Jayden, 706
  31. Luca, 691
  32. Daniel, 689
  33. Lincoln, 682
  34. Isaac, 668
  35. Caleb, 661
  36. Nolan, 652
  37. Elijah, 651
  38. Elliot, 631
  39. Louis, 626
  40. Aiden, 623
  41. Maverick, 610
  42. Wyatt, 576
  43. Carter, 570
  44. Ryan, 568
  45. Grayson, 558
  46. Raphael, 539
  47. Eli, 536
  48. Muhammad, 531
  49. Jaxon, 526
  50. Bennett, 525

The girls’ top 100 included Everly (55th), Romy (tied for 65th), Paisley (86th), and Lennon (tied for 94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Asher (54th), Emile (60th), Arnaud (tied for 89th), and Alexis (94th).

One name, Charlie, reached the top 100 for both genders. It ranked 17th for girls and 71st (tied with Matteo) for boys.

So where can you see these long-awaited Canadian baby name rankings for yourself?

Over at Statistics Canada. They’ve published rankings going back to 1991, and — just like the U.S. SSA — they’ve included all names given to at least five babies, of one gender or the other, per year.

Though we regularly see rare indigenous-language names (such as Anangokaa, Timmiak, and Waseskwan) being used in Alberta and Quebec, the only one used often enough in the last three decades to reach that 5-baby threshold nationally was Lucassie, an Inuktitut name given to exactly 5 baby boys in 2007.

(Lucassie is based on the biblical name Luke. Other “Inuktitutized” Christian names include Issacie, Joanasie/Joanassee, Josephie, Markoosie, Pauloosie/Paulassie, Peterosee, Simeonie, and Thomasee. A female example is Elisapie/Elisapee.)

Finally, here are the U.S. rankings for 2021, in case you’d like to compare neighbor to neighbor.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Canada (public domain)