 Since the Israelites often did not change the names of the towns they found in Canaan, the name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, `Anat.However, it is also given as the name of an Israelite person in 1 Chronicles (), and in Nehemiah ().Anathoth is mentioned as the native place of Abiezer the Anetothite, one of David's "thirty" (), and of Jehu, another of his mighty men ().