Joanna
| Joanna | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | English: /dʒoʊˈænə/ |
| Gender | female |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Hebrew > Greek |
| Meaning | God is gracious |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Jan, Jane, Jayne, Janet, Janette, Janice, Jean, Jeane, Jenny, Jeanny, Joan, Joann, Joanne, Johanna, Jenna, Jennah, Yoanna |
 |
Look up Joanna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα Iōanna from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה Yôḥānnāh meaning "God is gracious". Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne.
The earliest recorded occurrence of the name Joanna, in Luke 8:3, refers to the disciple "Joanna the wife of Chuza," who was an associate of Mary Magdalene. Her name as given is Greek in form, although it ultimately originated from the Hebrew masculine name יְהוֹחָנָן Yehôḥānān or יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānān meaning 'God is gracious'. In Greek this name became Ιωαννης Iōannēs, from which Iōanna was derived by giving it a feminine ending. The original Latin form Joanna was used in English to translate the equivalents in other languages; for example, Juana la Loca is known in English as Joanna the Mad. The variant form Johanna originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The Greek form lacks a medial -h- because in Greek /h/ could only occur initially.
The Hebrew name יוֹחָנָה Yôḥānnāh was borne by men in earlier centuries, but in modern usage it has become feminine, to provide a Hebrew equivalent for the name Joanna and its variants. The Christian Arabic form of John is يوحنّا Yūḥannā, based on the Syriac form of the name. For Joanna, Arabic translations of the Bible use يونّا Yuwannā based on Syriac ܝܘܚܢ Yoanna, which in turn is based on the Greek form Iōanna.
Sometimes in modern English Joanna is reinterpreted as a compound of the two names Jo and Anna, and therefore given a spelling like JoAnna, Jo-Anna, or Jo Anna. However, the original name Joanna is a single unit, not a compound. The names Hannah, Anna, Anne, Ann are etymologically related to Joanna just the same: they are derived from Hebrew חַנָּה Ḥannāh 'grace' from the same verbal root meaning 'to be gracious'.
Contents |
[edit] In other languages
- Amharic - ዮሐና Yohäna
- Arabic - يُوَنّا Yuwannā
- Armenian - Յովհաննա (Hovhanna), Օհաննա (Ōhanna)
- Breton - Janed
- Bulgarian - Йоана (Yoana), Ивана (Ivana), Яна (Yana), diminutive: Яниџa (Yanizza, Yanitza, Yanitsa)
- Catalan - Joana
- Chinese - Modern 喬安娜 Qiáo ān nà (literally 'tall, peaceful, graceful'), Biblical 約亞拿 Yāo yà ná
- Croatian - Ivana, Jana
- Czech - Jana,Johana
- Danish - Johanne
- Dutch - Joanna, diminutive Joke
- Finnish - Johanna, Joanna
- French - Jeanne, diminutive Jeannette, Janine, Old French - Jehane
- Georgian - იოანნა Ioanna
- German - Johanna, diminutive Hanne
- Greek - Ἰωάννα (Ioanna), Modern Greek - Γιάννα (Giánna), diminutive Γιαννούλα Yannoula
- Hebrew - יוחנה Yoḥannah, יוהנה Yohannah
- Hungarian - Johanna, Jana, diminutive Hanna, Janka
- Icelandic - Jóhanna
- Irish - Siobhán (after French Jeanne), diminutive Sinéad (after French Jeannette)
- Italian - Giovanna, diminutive Gianna, Giannina, Vanna, Nina, Zana, Ivana
- Latin - Joanna, Johanna
- Lithuanian - Joana
- Malayalam േയാഹന്നാ Yōhannā
- Polish - Joanna, diminutive Joasia, Asia, Asieńka, Aśka, Asiunia
- Portuguese - Joana
- Romanian - Ioana
- Russian - Яна (Yana), Жанна (Zhanna), Иoaннa (Ioanna, Hebrew form), Yana's diminutive: Янина (Yanina), Яника (Yanika)
- Serbian - Јована (Jovana), diminutive Јованка (Jovanka)
- Slovak - Jana
- Slovenian - Jana
- Spanish - Juana, diminutive Juanita
- Swedish - Johanna, diminutive Hanna
- Syriac - ܝܘܚܢ Yoanna
- Tamil - யோவன்னா Yōvannā
- Welsh - Siân
[edit] Women named Joanna
[edit] Religion
- Saint Joanna, one of the women associated with the ministry of Mary Magdalene. She brought myrrh to Christ's sepulcher and discovered the empty tomb (Luke 24:10).
[edit] Royals and noblewomen
- Joanna of Flanders, Duchess of Brittany
- Joanna, Duchess of Brabant
- Joanna I of Naples
- Joanna II of Naples
- Joanna of Navarre, consort of King Henry IV of England
- Saint Joana, Crown Princess of Portugal
- Joanna of Castile, queen regnant of Castile, known as Joanna the Mad
- Jeanne, Countess of Flanders
[edit] Other women named Joanna
- Joanna Angel, US porn actress
- Joanna Baillie, Scottish poet and playwright
- Joanna Cameron, an American actress who played Isis on The Secrets of Isis
- Joanna Cassidy, American actress
- Joanna Garcia, American actress
- Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress
- Joanna Gosling, British journalist
- Joanna "Jojo" Hernandez, appeared in the first season of The Oxygen Network's reality show The Bad Girls Club.
- Joanna Kerns, an American actress who played Maggie Seaver on Growing Pains.
- Joanna Krupa, a Polish model and actress
- Joanna Levesque, an American singer; credited as Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque in her acting career
- Joanna Lumley, English actress and former model
- Joanna MacGregor, classical jazz and contemporary pianist
- Joanna Newsom, an American harpist, singer, and songwriter
- Joanna Pacitti, a singer, known simply as Joanna
- Joanna Page, Welsh actress
- Joanna Pacuła, a Polish actress
- Joanna Russ, an American science fiction author known for her writing on radical feminist themes, author of The Female Man
- Joanna Scanlan, English actress and television writer
- Joanna Smolarek, a Polish track and field sprinter
- Joanna Southcott, English prophetess
- Joanna Stone, an Australian javelin thrower
- Joanna Sutton, an Australian netball player.
- Joanna Yeates, an English landscape architect and victim in a high-profile 2010 murder case
[edit] External links
- "Joanna" at Edgar's Name Pages - with history, naming frequency statistics, related names, and famous namebearers
- Icons of St. Joanna the Myrrh-Bearer here and here
