Hani
Masculine · “happy”
Hani is given to both — 732 boys and 214 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Hani is a word from everyday courtesy. Hani'an is what an Arabic speaker says to someone who is eating, roughly may it be pleasant to you, and the adjective behind it is this name: a person who is content, or who makes things pleasant.
How old is the name Hani?
Hani first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Hani alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 700 people named Hani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hani most popular?
Hani peaked in 1984, reaching #2529 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 4,274 places below that high. See the whole 1984 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hani' to Hani
The story of Hani
The root h-n-' is one of Arabic's social roots, generating the vocabulary of congratulation and of wishing someone well; it is not an abstract quality word but one tied to specific everyday exchanges. Hani has been used as a man's name across the Arabic-speaking world for centuries and is common in Egypt, the Levant and the Gulf. The glottal stop at the end is a genuine consonant in Arabic, counted and written, and its loss in the Latin alphabet is the same problem that affects Wael and a great many other names. Hani reached United States records with Arab migration and had its best year in 1984.
Meaning
happy, content, delighted
Arabic hani', from the root h-n-', which covers pleasantness and congratulation. The related hani'an is used both as a table courtesy and in congratulation, and tahni'ah is the noun for congratulating someone. The name properly ends in a hamza, a glottal stop, which English transliteration drops entirely.
How the name formed
- hani'
- Hani
Related forms: Hani · Hani · Hani
Pronouncing Hani
HAH-nee
Two syllables with the stress on the first. Arabic ends the name with a glottal stop that this spelling does not show, and the initial h is a full consonant that English speakers sometimes soften.
Nicknames for Hani
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1972
- Most boys named
- 202425 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2529reached in 1984
- Change vs 2024
- −52.0%12 in 2025, from 25
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hani in Arabic — same name
- Hani in Turkish — same name
- Hani in Persian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Michigan, New York.
Hanis among us
people named Hani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Hani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Egon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Egon climbed just as high around 1935, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Egon's path sketches the road Hani is walking now.
Hani sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Hani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Arabic meaning tied to an everyday social courtesy.
- Four letters, two syllables, and no spelling difficulty in English.
- Recognized across the whole Arabic-speaking world.
- The final glottal stop is invisible in this spelling.
- It is also a woman's name in some Asian traditions, which cuts across the Arabic use.
- Hanni and Hani are close and get confused.
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What they receive
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Hani
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Hani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hani in 2025?
- Hani ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hani?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Hani — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hani with classmates?
- Hani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hani and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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