Meaning and history
This name comes from the Punic name 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, meaning “my grace is Ba'al,” and is derived from Phoenician 𐤇𐤍𐤍 (ḥann), meaning “grace, favour,” combined with the name of the god Ba'al. It appears frequently in Carthaginian history and was most famously borne by the general and tactician Hannibal Barca, who threatened Rome during the Second Punic War in the 3rd century BC. The name is also associated with the fictional villain Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris’s books, first published in 1981, and their film adaptations.
20062006: 6 births, rank #10,662
2007: 14 births, rank #5,901
2008: 7 births, rank #9,871
2009: 7 births, rank #9,864
2010: 7 births, rank #9,693
20112011: 15 births, rank #5,675
2012: 13 births, rank #6,306
2013: 8 births, rank #8,789
2014: 17 births, rank #5,252
2015: 19 births, rank #4,890
20162016: 17 births, rank #5,318
2017: 12 births, rank #6,685
2018: 16 births, rank #5,540
2019: 13 births, rank #6,406
2020: 14 births, rank #5,980
20212021: 18 births, rank #5,110
2022: no US SSA record for this spelling
2023: 11 births, rank #7,289
2024: 9 births, rank #8,312
20252025: 6 births, rank #10,695
In 2025, 6 babies were recorded with the name Hannibal, ranking #10,695 among boys.