Head to head · Girls' names
Hannah vs Leah
#56 vs #58 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Hannah is a whisker ahead (#56 vs #58 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Hannah leads 4 measures of 6; Leah leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Hannah #111, Leah #214 — Hannah higher
- 1890s: Hannah #144, Leah #202 — Hannah higher
- 1900s: Hannah #191, Leah #243 — Hannah higher
- 1910s: Hannah #251, Leah #261 — Hannah higher
- 1920s: Hannah #346, Leah #318 — Leah higher
- 1930s: Hannah #450, Leah #339 — Leah higher
- 1940s: Hannah #574, Leah #395 — Leah higher
- 1950s: Hannah #796, Leah #358 — Leah higher
- 1960s: Hannah #887, Leah #250 — Leah higher
- 1970s: Hannah #502, Leah #145 — Leah higher
- 1980s: Hannah #120, Leah #81 — Leah higher
- 1990s: Hannah #15, Leah #98 — Hannah higher
- 2000s: Hannah #8, Leah #69 — Hannah higher
- 2010s: Hannah #28, Leah #35 — Hannah higher
- 2020s: Hannah #48, Leah #51 — Hannah higher
Hannah stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Hannah has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hannah | Leah |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #111 | #214 |
| 1890s | #144 | #202 |
| 1900s | #191 | #243 |
| 1910s | #251 | #261 |
| 1920s | #346 | #318 |
| 1930s | #450 | #339 |
| 1940s | #574 | #395 |
| 1950s | #796 | #358 |
| 1960s | #887 | #250 |
| 1970s | #502 | #145 |
| 1980s | #120 | #81 |
| 1990s | #15 | #98 |
| 2000s | #8 | #69 |
| 2010s | #28 | #35 |
| 2020s | #48 | #51 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Hannah
- Canada#29
- Scotland#64
Leah
- Canada#81
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Hannah
favor, grace
From Hebrew hannah, from a root meaning to be gracious or to show favor. The same root lies behind John, Anne, Jane, Joanna and a dozen others, which makes this one of the most productive words in the entire European name stock.
Channah → Anna → Anne → Hannah
How it traveled
The name belongs first to a woman in the book of Samuel who prays at a shrine so intensely and so silently that the priest watching assumes she is drunk, and the song she sings afterwards is one of the oldest poems in the Hebrew Bible. Anne, Anna, Ann and Nan all descend from her.
Leah
Most often read as "weary"; also read as "wild cow"
The traditional reading ties Leah to the Hebrew root la'ah, "to be weary or worn out." Semitic scholars have long proposed instead a link to an Akkadian word for cow, which would pair neatly with her sister Rachel, whose name means "ewe." Both readings are seriously held, and neither has pushed the other out.
Lēʾāh (Hebrew) → Leia (Greek Septuagint) → Lia (Latin Vulgate) → Leah (English)
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, first recorded in the book of Genesis, where Leah is married to Jacob before her sister Rachel and becomes the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible wrote her as Leia; the Latin Vulgate settled on Lia, which is why Italian, Spanish and Portuguese still use that form.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Hannah
HAN-uh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The final h is silent in English and is there because Hebrew transliteration put it there; several European languages drop it without changing the sound.
- Hanna — The same name without the final h; used interchangeably in speech.
- Han — A single-syllable clip that has become common among younger bearers.
- Nan — An old English familiar form of the same name, cut from the back.
- Hannie — The affectionate form, standard in Dutch and used informally in English.
Leah
LEE-uh
LEE-uh is standard in American English. Elsewhere the same name is said LAY-ah — that is the usual Hebrew, German and French pronunciation — so expect a polite correction now and then when traveling or among speakers of those languages.
- Lee — The usual informal clip, and a standalone given name and surname in its own right for both sexes.
- Lea — Used casually in writing; also the standard full spelling in German, Dutch and Scandinavian records.
- Lee-Lee — A doubled family nickname, mostly used with young children rather than carried into adult life.
Who has carried each name
Hannah
Hannah Arendt (b. 1906) — Philosopher who coined "the banality of evil"
Hannah Waddingham (b. 1974) — Emmy winner as Ted Lasso's Rebecca
Leah
Leah Remini (b. 1970) — The King of Queens star
Leah Williamson (b. 1997) — Captained England to the Euro 2022 soccer title
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Hannah if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooHannah is on the national lists of Canada and Scotland
Choose Leah if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Leah from Hannah.
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Hannah
Strengths
- It is known everywhere in the Western world and needs no explanation in any of it.
- The meaning is documented and simple, which not every long-established name can claim.
- It reads identically forwards and backwards, which children notice and enjoy for years.
To consider
- Hanna without the final h is common enough that the spelling will be asked about often.
- It has been near the top of the American lists for a long time, so a classroom may hold more than one.
- It is recorded for sons as well, but so rarely that a boy carrying it would be explaining it constantly.
Leah
Strengths
- Two syllables, all common sounds, and spelled the way most English speakers already know it from the Bible.
- Recognized across many languages with only a small adjustment: Léa in French, Lea in German, Lia in Italian and Spanish.
- Short enough to need no nickname, while still offering Lee and Lea if one is wanted.
To consider
- Lea, Lia, Léa and Leia are all live spellings of nearby names, so a fair number of people will need to be told which one you mean.
- The most common reading of the meaning is "weary," which some parents would rather not choose. The rival "wild cow" reading is not obviously more appealing.
- English speakers say LEE-uh, but much of the rest of the world says LAY-ah — worth knowing if the family is bilingual.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Hannah and Leah in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Hannah and Leah?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Hannah and Leah — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hannah or Leah — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hannah or Leah?
- Hannah, in 2025: Hannah ranked #56 with 3,973 babies; Leah ranked #58 with 3,880 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hannah or Leah?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Hannah moved down 17 places; Leah moved down 13 places.
- Which is the older name, Hannah or Leah?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Hannah and Leah?
- About 441,000 people named Hannah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 234,000 people named Leah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hannahs or Leahs in the classroom?
- Hannah will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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