Hannah

Write Hannah on a scrap of paper, then read it backwards. Same name. It's a palindrome, which has to be the most satisfying party trick a name can pull off, and it costs nothing extra at the registry office.

Behind that tidy spelling sits a lovely meaning. Hannah is a Hebrew name meaning favour or grace (or "favor", if you're filling in the form the American way). It's a meaning that feels gentle without being wishy-washy, the sort of thing you'd be glad to live up to.

An ancient story with modern company

This is a name with deep roots. Hannah is a biblical character mentioned in the Books of Samuel, so it has been around for a very long time indeed. It later found its way into fiction: Hannah Abbott is a character in the Harry Potter series, which means a certain generation of parents may hear the name with a little flicker of recognition.

Out in the real world it has been carried by Hannah Arendt, the German-American political theorist and philosopher, and by Hannah Murray, the English actress. Philosophy and acting in one name: it can clearly think and perform.

Steady rather than showy

Hannah isn't chasing the top spot anywhere at the moment, and that's rather its appeal. It sits at #29 in Canada (2024) and #39 in the United States (2020), then drifts gently down the charts:

• #64 in Australia (2025)
• #78 in New Zealand (2024)
• #83 in Mexico City (2023)
• #107 in England & Wales (2024)
• #217 in Argentina and #250 in France (2024)

That's a sweet spot for a lot of parents. Everyone knows how to spell it (it's the same in both directions, after all), yet it isn't so common that your Hannah will be one of four on the register. In France or Argentina she'd be positively distinctive.

It sits happily among other gentle, traditional names: Sarah, Rachel, Samuel and Benjamin all share its old-soul warmth, so it slots neatly into a family of classics. There's no official nickname, although families do have a habit of inventing their own within a week.

Perhaps the nicest thing about Hannah is that it never tries too hard. It doesn't need an unusual spelling or a clever backstory to stand out. It simply turns up, graceful and reliable, and gets on with things. It will look just as right on a birthday cake at four as on a wedding invitation at thirty, and there aren't many names you can say that about with a straight face.

Choosing a name, of course, is rarely that serene. There are lists, vetoes, and at least one relative with strong opinions. But if you're after something warm, timeless and satisfyingly symmetrical, Hannah is worth writing down. Forwards or backwards, it'll look just as good.