2000
#887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,599
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.20
Uncommon Last name
Hanna
Derived from the Hebrew name "Channah," meaning grace or favor, and adopted as an Irish surname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,268 Americans carry the last name Hanna. That puts it at #818 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,251 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hanna surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hanna with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,251
Census rank
#818
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,220 bearers of the surname Hanna in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 818th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hanna, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hanna
The surname HANNA originated in the Middle East, specifically in regions that are now part of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. It is derived from the Hebrew name Johanan, which means "God is gracious." The name first appeared in biblical times and was quite common among Jews during the period of the Second Temple.
In its earliest forms, the name was written as Yohanan or Yohanen in Hebrew and later as Youhanna or Youhanan in Arabic. As the name spread across the Middle East and Europe, various spellings emerged, including Hanna, Hannah, Hannan, and Hannon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HANNA can be found in the writings of the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus, who mentioned a high priest named Ananus (or Hanna) during the time of the Roman occupation of Judea.
In the 12th century, the name HANNA was found in the records of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order that was active in the Crusades. Several members of the order bore this surname, including a knight named Sire de Hanna who participated in the siege of Acre in 1191.
During the Middle Ages, the name HANNA was also associated with various place names in England and Scotland. For example, the village of Hannath in Northumberland was named after a person called Hanna or Hannan, and the Scottish town of Hannay likely derived its name from the same source.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure named John Hanna (1633-1695) was a Presbyterian minister in Ireland who played a significant role in the Ulster Scots migration to North America. He was known for his opposition to the Church of Ireland and his advocacy for Presbyterian principles.
Another notable bearer of the surname HANNA was William Hanna (1910-2001), an American cartoonist, animator, and co-founder of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio, famous for creating iconic characters such as Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons.
Other famous individuals with the surname HANNA include:
1. Mark Hanna (1837-1904), an American businessman and political figure who played a crucial role in the presidential campaign of William McKinley.
2. Katharine Hanna (1853-1940), an American educator and activist who fought for women's suffrage and labor rights.
3. Samia Hanna (born 1956), a Lebanese-American writer and human rights activist known for her work on women's issues in the Middle East.
4. Mamdouh Hanna (born 1958), an Egyptian-American engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded the software company Vertical Networks.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hanna
Among Census respondents with the surname Hanna, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hanna bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hanna surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 35,583
- Black or African American5.7% · 2,344
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,395
- Two or more races3.3% · 1,372
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 302
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 224
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hanna
Hanna appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#867
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,890
+4,291 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 13.52
Rank movement Up 20 places
2020
#818
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,220
+1,330 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 13.79
Rank movement Up 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #887 | 35,599 | 13.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #867 | 39,890 | 13.52 | +4,291 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 20 places |
| 2020 | #818 | 41,220 | 13.79 | +1,330 bearers (+3.3%) | Up 49 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hanna surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #867 | #818 | 5.7% |
| Count | 39,890 | 41,220 | 3.3% |
| Per 100K | 13.52 | 13.79 | 2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hanna bearers went from 39,890 to 41,220 (+3.3% change). The surname moved up 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #867 to #818.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hanna
FAQ
Hanna surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hanna?
Name Census estimates that about 47,268 living Americans carry the surname Hanna. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,251 residents.
How common is Hanna?
Hanna ranks #818 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,220 people with the surname Hanna. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Hanna.
Has Hanna become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hanna went from 39,890 recorded bearers to 41,220. That is an increase of 1,330 (+3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #867 to #818.
What does the Census say about the background of Hanna?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hanna, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (35,583 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hanna appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (5.7%), Hispanic (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hanna (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hanna mean?
Derived from the Hebrew name "Channah," meaning grace or favor, and adopted as an Irish surname. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hanna (13.79 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Hanna?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.