| Hannah | Samantha | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Grace, favour | — |
| Origin | Hebrew | — |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | HAN-uh | — |
| Syllables | 2 | — |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2000 (23,087) | 1990 (25,868) |
| In 2025 | 3,973 | 1,973 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Hannah | Samantha |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 26,230 | 14,737 |
| 2010s | 64,506 | 56,929 |
| 2000s | 155,784 | 134,313 |
| 1990s | 158,818 | 224,023 |
| 1980s | 32,702 | 121,124 |
| 1970s | 4,544 | 28,906 |
| 1960s | 1,369 | 11,027 |
| 1950s | 1,447 | 486 |
| 1940s | 1,777 | 292 |
| 1930s | 2,126 | 175 |
| 1920s | 3,811 | 186 |
| 1910s | 4,465 | 181 |
| 1900s | 2,605 | 135 |
| 1890s | 3,021 | 174 |
| 1880s | 2,480 | 159 |
Hannah comes from the Hebrew Channah, “favour, grace.” In the Bible she is the devoted mother of the prophet Samuel; the name is the root of Anna and Anne, and reads the same forwards and backwards.
Samantha is of uncertain origin, first recorded in the American South in the 18th century — possibly a feminine of Samuel with a decorative -antha ending. The film High Society and TV’s Bewitched made it a hit.
Hannah is more popular than Samantha today: about 3,973 US babies were given the name Hannah in 2025, compared with 1,973 named Samantha.
In US records, Hannah first appears in 1880 and Samantha in 1880, so Hannah has the longer recorded history.