OK, this is completely juvenile, but admit it — when you saw the photo of the news anchor with the amazing name being shared all over social media this week, you laughed, right? A little? Cannot help.
It’s one of those inside-jokey, if-you-know-you-know kind of things. But if you do know, Hanna Battah is pretty much the best name you’ve heard in a long time.
It might be even better than Sterling Silva, Pua Ting, Marlon Blando and all those other classic Hawaii names. Hanna Battah brings out that puerile fourth-grade glee, the kind that makes you snort-laugh in church or get in trouble with your brothers in the back seat of the car while Dad is driving. “The lady’s name is Hanna Battah. Heh heh heh. You think it’s a joke but it’s snot.”
Hanna Battah is a reporter and anchor at KBAK-TV in Bakersfield, Calif. She’s a recent University of Missouri School of Journalism grad who moved to California in November. She brought her awesome name with her.
To make it even better, she pronounces her last name “bah-TAH” so it sounds all fancy. Pardon me, Hanna BatTAH, would you have any Grey Poupon? Heh heh heh.
Apparently, she was not aware of the funny punny sound of her name until this week, when things got downright viral in Hawaii. Somebody screenshotted her image from the nightly newscast, her fabulous name displayed across the bottom, and sent it out on social media. The image was shared and shared, got thousands of “likes” and brought out every nose, mucus and picking joke known to man.
Then, several very earnest Hawaii people took it upon themselves to tell Hanna Battah why she was trending in Hawaii. How right-on is that, yeah? They explained, in a straightforward but gentle way, the word hanabata, the nuances of meaning, like when people fondly speak of their “hanabata days,” and so on. It was nice. It wasn’t just, “Girl, your name is what we call snot in Hawaii, and that’s why we’re laughing.”
Bless her heart, Hanna Battah can take a joke.
“Nothing like being able to get a good laugh at yourself. Shout out to all my new Hawaiian followers!” she tweeted.
Her good-natured reaction cemented her status with Hawaii people. She doesn’t just have the name, she has the character to carry it with class.
“Ha ha, she’s awesome!”
“Good sense of humor.”
“What a good sport!”
“So epic! She’s totally cool!”
And there were hopeful comments posted wishing for her to come to Hawaii, if only to hear the phrase, “Wake up with Hanna Battah” on local television every morning. Heh heh heh.
Though she did not respond to requests for an official comment, she did post on social media:
“Thanks! I hear Hawaii really ‘nose’ their news”
One of her new fans added, “Just don’t be ‘Pick’y you might ‘DIG’ it here in Hawaii.”
(Admit it. You laughed a little.)
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
