Elhanan as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Elhanan

What is the meaning of the name Elhanan ?

The baby name Elhanan is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced el-HAN-ən (EL-hah-nən); Hebrew approx. el-ḥa-NAN.

Elhanan is Hebrew in Origin.

Elhanan is a Hebrew masculine given name meaning “God has shown favor” or “God is gracious,” from El (“God”) + ḥanan (“to be gracious, show mercy”). In Hebrew script it appears as אלחנן, traditionally vocalized Elḥanan.

It occurs in the Hebrew Bible: Elhanan son of Dodo, one of King David’s warriors; and a textual tradition where Elhanan slays a Philistine champion, clarified as Goliath’s brother in Chronicles. The name persisted in Jewish communities through the Middle Ages (e.g., Tosafist Elhanan ben Isaac) and is used in modern Israel. English-speaking Protestants occasionally adopted it in the 17th–19th centuries. Variants and transliterations include Elchanan, Elchonon (Yiddish), Elkhanan (Russian), and the short forms Chanan/Hanan; related cognates from the same root include Hananiah (Chananya) and the feminine Hannah/Channah.