Anan (name)

Anan (Hebrew: עָנַן ‘ānan) is used as both a Hebrew or Arabic name meaning "cloud, vapour" or descriptive "visible water vapour floating above the earth". The Arabic form is from Classical Arabic, possibly adopted from the Hebrew, but with the spelling (Arabic: عَنَان ‘anān) since the proper term of "cloud" in Arabic is saḥāb (سَحَاب).

Anan is both a given name and a surname.

Notable people with the Hebrew name include:

• Anan, one of the Israelites who sealed the covenant after the return from Babylon (Nehemiah 10:27)
• Anan (amora), Babylonian Jewish scholar
• Anan ben David, Karaite
• Saul ben Anan, Karaite Jewish leader of the eighth century CE

Notable people with the Arabic name include:

• Anan Anwar, Thai singer and actor
• Sami Hafez Anan, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces

Other notable people who are not related to the Hebrew-Arabic meaning of name but carries the name or surname:

• Che Anan, a Vietnamese king from the region of Champa
• Junro Anan (阿南準郎), Japanese baseball player
• Kenji Anan (阿南健治), Japanese actor
• Pokkhao Anan, Thai footballer