Chana
Meaning of Chana
Chana, pronounced HAH-nuh, is the Hebrew form of Hannah and carries the age-old meaning of “grace” or “favor,” a quality the biblical Chana—mother of the prophet Samuel—embodied when her quiet prayer in Shiloh reshaped Israel’s history. Over centuries the name slipped into Yiddish lullabies, later threading its way through Ellis Island and, more recently, into American delivery rooms; the Social Security charts show it hovering in the 550-700 range for the past six decades, neither vying for center stage nor vanishing behind the curtain—a study in statistical poise. Linguists note its soft guttural opening, a consonant that echoes the Persian kh, as though the name had paused for tea in Isfahan before boarding a westbound caravan. Modern parents often choose Chana for its blend of tradition and brevity; four letters, two syllables, and a promise of grace without extravagance. If naming trends were a spice bazaar, Chana would be saffron: subtle, valuable, and never outshone by louder colors.
Pronunciation
Hebrew
- Pronunced as HAH-nuh (/hɑˈnə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Notable People Named Chana
| Chana Pilane-Majake - Makgathatso Pilane-Majake is a South African ANC politician who served as Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration until 2024. |
| Chana Orloff was a Ukrainian-born sculptor renowned for her Art deco and figurative works in France and Israel. |
| Chana Bloch was an American poet, translator, and scholar who served as a professor emerita of English at Mills College in Oakland, California. |
| Chana Schneerson was the wife of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson and mother of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe. |
| Chana Porter is an American playwright, novelist, and education activist whose debut novel, The Seep, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction. |
| Chana Joffe-Walt is a radio journalist and producer who has worked on Planet Money and This American Life. |
