Hannon
A variant of Hanan, a Hebrew name meaning "He was gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Hannon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Hannon today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hannon births was 2016 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hannon. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hannon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
2016
8 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,073
Tracked since 1915
Gender
Gender distribution for Hannon
Hannon leans heavily male at 86.1% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hannon as a male name
- Ranked #12,889 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2016 (8 births)
Hannon as a female name
- Ranked #11,073 in 1982
- 5 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1981 (5 births)
Popularity
Hannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hannon from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hannon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hannon 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 Hannon 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 Hannon
The name Hannon has its origins in the Phoenician language, which was spoken in the ancient Levant region (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Israel and Palestine) during the first millennium BCE. The name is derived from the Phoenician word "ḥanun," which means "gracious" or "merciful."
In ancient Phoenician texts, the name Hannon appears as a personal name and is mentioned in various historical records and inscriptions from the region. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in an inscription from the 9th century BCE, which refers to a Phoenician ruler named Hannon, the King of Carthage (a Phoenician colony in modern-day Tunisia).
The name Hannon gained particular prominence in the ancient city-state of Carthage, where it was borne by several notable individuals throughout its history. One of the most famous was Hannon the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer from the 5th century BCE, who led a renowned expedition to explore the west coast of Africa. His account of this voyage, known as the "Periplus of Hannon," is one of the earliest surviving records of ancient exploration.
Another notable figure named Hannon was a Carthaginian general who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He played a crucial role in the First Punic War against the Roman Republic and is mentioned in several ancient historical accounts, including those by the Greek historian Polybius.
In the religious sphere, the name Hannon is associated with the Phoenician god Baal Hamon, who was the personification of the sun and fertility. This deity was widely worshipped in Phoenician cities and colonies, and the name Hannon may have been given to individuals as a devotional practice or to invoke divine favor.
Other notable individuals named Hannon include Hannon of Rhodes, a Greek mathematician and writer from the 1st century BCE, and Hannon, a Carthaginian explorer from the 5th century BCE who wrote about his expedition along the west coast of Africa.
While the name Hannon has its roots in ancient Phoenician culture, it has also been used in various other contexts and cultures throughout history, reflecting the enduring influence of Phoenician civilization and its language on the wider Mediterranean world.
People
Hannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hannon 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
Hannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hannon 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Hannon a common name?
We classify Hannon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Hannon was 2016, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hannon is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hannon a male name?
Yes, 86.1% of people registered as Hannon in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.