Find out how popular the first name Ananiah has been for the last 23 years (from 2002 to 2024) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Ananiah by gender

Based on the last 23 years of data, Ananiah is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 2024, there were 6 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Ananiah.

The history of the first name Ananiah

The name Ananiah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew root words "???n" (cloud) and "Yah" (a shortened form of the name of God), which together can be interpreted to mean "cloud of God" or "protected by God."

The earliest recorded instance of the name Ananiah appears in the Book of Tobit, one of the books of the Apocrypha, which recounts the story of Tobit and his son Tobiah, who is accompanied on his journey by the archangel Raphael, initially disguised under the name Ananiah. This text is thought to have been written sometime between the 6th and 2nd centuries BCE.

In the New Testament of the Bible, Ananiah is mentioned as the name of a Jewish disciple in Damascus who was instructed by God in a vision to restore the sight of the newly converted Paul (formerly known as Saul of Tarsus). This event is described in the Acts of the Apostles, which was likely written in the late 1st century CE.

One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Ananiah was a Jewish high priest who served in the Temple of Jerusalem in the early 1st century CE. He is mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus in his work "Antiquities of the Jews."

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the name Ananiah. These include Ananiah Shemuel Nahmias (1817-1892), a prominent rabbi and scholar from the Ottoman Empire; Ananiah Sinaites (c. 1790-1865), a Greek Orthodox monk and scholar from the Sinai Peninsula; and Ananiah Mirpuri (1848-1926), an influential Indian educator and social reformer.

In more recent history, there have been individuals such as Ananiah David Shavit (1925-2019), an Israeli jurist and legal scholar, and Ananiah Jameel (born 1984), a Sudanese-American basketball player who played professionally in several countries.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Ananiah was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ananiah, please contact us.

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