Both of Hannah's names are from the Bible, and are originally Hebrew and Greek respectively.
Hannah appears at the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel. It's a good and moving story of Hannah's trust in God and faith in Him. After a difficult start Hannah becomes the mother of Samuel, who as the Prophet goes on to anoint David as king of Israel. David, of course, is an ancestor of Our Lord Jesus.
Thus, Hannah's act of faith proved to be a key part of God's plan to save the world. We don't expect our Hannah will be quite this significant 8^), but we do pray that she will leave the world better than she finds it, and that God will bless people through her.
The Hebrew name Hannah means something like
grace, or God has favoured me.
Phoebe is briefly mentioned at the beginning of Romans chapter 16, where the Apostle Paul writes, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.
So, Phoebe is at the top of the long list of people Paul wants to acknowledge, and she sounds like a lovely person. We hope and pray that people will say the same of our Hannah Phoebe in years to come.
The Greek name Phoebe means bright or
shining
A Japanese name
Hannah also has a Japanese name, conferred on her by our friend Akiko-san. The word hana in Japanese means flower, which seems eminently suitable. This is its Kanji - it's a relatively simple one!