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Subhan'Allāh (Arabic سبحان الله) is an Arabic phrase often translated as "Glorious is God."
Said Mohammed bin AbeeBakr Abdulqader al-Razee, in his book "Mukhtar al-Sihah" one of the classic Arabic-wordbooks:
The meaning of subhanallah is, making God pure, and it is bound to its original word (sabh, meaning void) as if he said, I verily absolve God from all evil.
The origin for the word is sabh, voidness, or tasbeeh, making something void. So the direct literal meaning of the phrase is God is devoid... And there is a part that is unpronounced which is "void of all evil". And this is the way that it is used in the Quran. For example it says; "SubhanAllahi ammaa yasifoon 37:159 - Void/Free is Allah from that (evil) which they ascribe (to Him)" and "SubhanAllah ammaa yushrikoon" 52:43 - Free is God from what they associate with him."
It is also often cited during the Islamic prayer (salat). During the sermon (khutba) in the mosques.
The statement of "Subhan'allah" testifies one's removing any anthropomorphic elements or associations with God, as al-Razi says in his Mukhtar al-Sihah, (تنزيه tanziyh). "SubhanAllah meaning is Glory be to Allah"
It seems that the Christian counterpart is "Hallowed be your name"
Reference:
قُلْ هَـذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَاْ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَمَا أَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Qul hathihi sabeelee adAAoo ila Allahi AAala baseeratin ana wamani ittabaAAanee wasubhana Allahi wama ana mina almushrikeena
12:108 Say thou: "This is my way: I do invite unto Allah,- on evidence clear as the seeing with one's eyes,- I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah. and never will I join gods with Allah."
SubhanAllah meaning is "Glory be to Allah".
قُلْ هَـذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَاْ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللّهِ وَمَا أَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ Say thou: "This is my way: I do invite unto Allah,- on evidence clear as the seeing with one's eyes,- I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah. and never will I join gods with Allah." Al-Quran 12:108
فَلَمَّا جَاءهَا نُودِيَ أَن بُورِكَ مَن فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ But when he came to the (fire), a voice was heard: "Blessed are those in the fire and those around: and glory to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Al-Quran 27:8