MEANING & HISTORY
What does Hannibal mean?
Hannibal continues a Punic name interpreted as my grace is Baal. Its Phoenician elements concern grace or favour and the divine name Baal.
This is a theophoric formation, preserving a religious statement from the ancient Carthaginian world. Hannibal Barca is its best-known military bearer, but his achievements do not supply the literal meaning. The historical name can now be chosen for cultural or family reasons without assuming the religious beliefs expressed by its ancient components.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Latin Hannibal, a rendering of Punic 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 (ḥnbʿl /ḥannībaʿl/, “May the Lord (Baal) grace me”).
A male given name from Punic of mostly historical use. Most notably borne by the Carthaginian general Hannibal, son of Hamilcar.
Wiktionary: Hannibal (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
3
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Hannibal in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Hannibal
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Hanna♀Grace; a form of Hannah
- Hannah♀Grace or favour
- Halina♀Calm; Slavic form in the Galina family
- Hann·Short name associated chiefly with Johan or John
- Hakim·Wise in the Arabic Ḥakīm account
- Hamham♂Repeated familiar form of Abraham
- Hamilcar·Punic name possibly meaning brother of Melqart
- Hanako♀Flower + child in the 花子 spelling
What rhymes with Hannibal?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Hannibal further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Hannibal (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Hannibal (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.