Channah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "grace" or "favor".
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Channah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Channah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Channah births was 2023 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Channah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Channah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
2023
16 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,285
Tracked since 1975
Census
Channah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 262 people with the first name Channah, which placed it at #32,242 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#32,242
National first-name rank
People counted
262
262 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Channah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Channah is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Channah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Channah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 153
- Black or African American19.8% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 28
- Two or more races5.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 5
Popularity
Channah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Channah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 92 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Channah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Channah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Channah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Channah
The name Channah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew word "chen," which means "grace" or "favor." The name is also a variant spelling of the more common biblical name "Hannah."
One of the earliest and most significant mentions of the name Channah can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. In the Book of Samuel, Channah is the name of the mother of the prophet Samuel, who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the monarchy in ancient Israel. Her story is recounted in detail, depicting her as a devout woman who prayed fervently for a child and ultimately became the mother of Samuel.
In Jewish tradition, the name Channah is often associated with virtues such as faith, perseverance, and devotion. It has been a popular name among Jewish communities throughout history, and many notable individuals have borne this name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Channah is Channah Rochel Werbermacher, a Jewish poet and scholar who lived in the 16th century in Poland. She was renowned for her literary works, which often explored themes of faith and spirituality.
Another notable figure in history with the name Channah was Channah Senesh, a Hungarian-Israeli poet and special operations officer during World War II. She played a significant role in the Jewish resistance against the Nazis and was eventually captured and executed in 1944 at the age of 23.
In the 19th century, Channah Kalir was a prominent Jewish educator and author in Palestine. She founded several schools and wrote extensively on topics related to education and the empowerment of women.
Channah Marom, born in 1939, was an Israeli politician and activist who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and advocated for women's rights and social justice issues.
Another notable figure with the name Channah was Channah Batya Diener, a renowned Hasidic singer and songwriter from New York. She gained widespread recognition for her soulful and spiritual music, blending traditional Jewish melodies with contemporary styles.
While the name Channah has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has transcended religious and cultural boundaries and has been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds, each adding their unique stories and contributions to the rich tapestry of this timeless name.
People
Channah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Channah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Channah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Channah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Channah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Channah a common name?
We classify Channah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 265 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Channah most popular?
The single biggest year for Channah was 2023, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Channah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Channah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 262 people with the name Channah, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,242 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Channah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Channah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Channah appears almost entirely female. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Channah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Channah is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Channah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Channah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (153 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Channah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Channah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Channah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Channah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Channah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Channah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Channah?
Find out how many Americans are named Channah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.