Haniah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "happiness and joy".
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the first name Haniah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Haniah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haniah births was 2013 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haniah. 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 Haniah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
127
~ 1 in 2,698,853 Americans
Peak year
2013
15 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,193
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Haniah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haniah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haniah 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 Haniah 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 Haniah
The name Haniah is of Arabic origin, derived from the Semitic root "h-n-n" which means "tenderness" or "affection." It is a variation of the more common Arabic name Hana, which is also related to the Hebrew name Hannah.
This name has been used for centuries in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in regions with significant Arab populations. It was likely first popularized during the early days of Islam, when Arabic names began to spread across the region.
While the name Haniah does not appear directly in religious texts like the Quran, it is believed to be inspired by the biblical figure Hannah, who is revered in both Islam and Christianity as the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her name is mentioned in the Quran and the Bible, and her story of patience and faith has been celebrated for generations.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Haniah was a 9th-century Arab scholar and poet, Haniah bint Abdallah al-Andalusiyya, who lived in Cordoba, Spain. She was known for her expertise in Arabic literature and her contributions to the intellectual life of the city during the Golden Age of Islamic Spain.
Another notable Haniah was Haniah al-Ramliyya, a 13th-century Arab mystic and Sufi from Damascus, Syria. She was renowned for her spiritual teachings and her role in promoting the Sufi tradition in the region.
In more recent history, Haniah al-Ghunaim was a Kuwaiti writer and activist who lived from 1927 to 2019. She was a pioneering figure in the women's rights movement in Kuwait and published several works of fiction and non-fiction that explored issues of gender, culture, and identity.
Haniah al-Hosban was a Saudi Arabian philanthropist and businesswoman who lived from 1923 to 2010. She was known for her charitable work and her efforts to promote education and empowerment for women in Saudi Arabia.
In the realm of arts and culture, Haniah al-Dallal was a renowned Palestinian artist and ceramicist who lived from 1941 to 2008. Her works, which often incorporated traditional Arabic motifs and patterns, were exhibited internationally and are part of numerous museum collections.
People
Haniah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haniah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Haniah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haniah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 127 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haniah 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 2,698,853 US residents.
Is Haniah a common name?
We classify Haniah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 128 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haniah most popular?
The single biggest year for Haniah was 2013, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haniah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Haniah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haniah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haniah 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 Haniah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haniah 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 Haniah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Haniah?
Want to know how many Americans are named Haniah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.