Jan (name)
Pronunciation | Czech: [ˈjan][1] German: [ˈjan][1][a] Dutch: [ˈjɑn][1] Polish: [ˈjan][1] |
---|---|
Gender | Unisex |
Origin | |
Word/name | Hebrew |
Meaning | "YHWH has been gracious"[2] |
Other names | |
Related names | John, Jaan, Jann, Evan, Giovanni, Hans, Juan, Hovhannes, Ion, Ian, Ioan, Ioane, Ivan, Iven, Ifan, Jack, Jackson, Jane, Janez, Jean, Jhon, Joan, João, Johan/Johann, Johanan, Johannes, Jonne, Jovan, Juhani, Seán, Shane, Siôn, Xan, Xoán, Yahya, Yann, Yohannes |
Jan is a variant of John in various languages. (See the “Other names” section in this page’s infobox for more variants.)
The name is used in Afrikaans, Belarusian, Circassian, Catalan, Cornish, Croatian, Czech, Devon dialect, Dutch, German, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian, Scandinavian and Finnic languages. In English, it is a shortened form of the first names Janice, January or Janet, with corresponding pronunciation. It has a separate origin in Persian, Greek, and Armenian.
Netherlands and Flanders
In the Netherlands and Flanders, the name used to be one of the most popular given first names. From the 1950s the occurrence of the name decreased. In 2014, no more than 3% of the boys are given this name.[3] However, it still is one of the most widely distributed names. It is also the most common name of Dutch players in the Netherlands national football team.[4]
The name Jan is sometimes combined with another first name, such as in Jan Peter (for instance in Jan Peter Balkenende), or in Klaas Jan (for instance in Klaas Jan Huntelaar). Very rarely the name Jan is given to a girl, as variants like Jannie, Janneke or Jantje are more common.
Because it used to be so common, it found its way into many expressions[5] still widely used today, even though the popularity of the name itself has faded. "Jan met de pet", literally "Jan wearing a cap", signifies the common man; and "Jan en alleman", literally "Jan and everyman", signifies a large group of people, often used when referring to a cross-section of society.
People (first name)
- Jan III Sobieski (1629–1696), Polish monarch
- Jan (ispán) (fl. 1071), Hungarian noble
- Jan Akkerman (born 1946), Dutch rock musician
- Jan Amos Komenský (1592–1670), Czech teacher, scientist, educator, and writer
- Jan Baalsrud (1917–1988), Norwegian commando
- Jan van Bemmel (born 1938), Dutch medical informatician
- Jan Inge Björklund (born 1969), Danish designer in food & beverage packaging design/concepts
- Jan Björklund (born 1962), Swedish politician
- Jan Boháček (born 1969), Czech ice hockey player
- Jan de Bont (born 1943), Dutch cinematographer, producer, and film director
- Jan Borgman (born 1929), Dutch astronomer
- Jan Buijs (1889–1961), Dutch architect
- Jan Choinski (born 1996), British tennis player
- Jan Czerlinski (born 1967), Czech ice hockey player
- Jan Derbyshire, Canadian writer and comedian
- Jan Dijkstra (1910–1993), Dutch mayor
- Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745), Czech baroque composer
- Jan Drenth (born 1925), Dutch chemist
- Jan Erixon (born 1962), Swedish former professional hockey player
- Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787–1869), Czech anatomist, and physiologist, discoverer of Purkinje cells
- Jan Fedder (1955–2019), German actor
- Jan Fontein (1927–2017), Dutch art historian
- Jan Garbarek (born 1947), Norwegian jazz saxophonist
- Jan Geersing (1940–2021), Dutch politician
- Jan E. Goldstein (born 1946), Norman and Edna Freehling Professor of History at the University of Chicago.
- Jan van Gooswilligen (1935–2008), Dutch field hockey player
- Jan Guillou (born 1944), Swedish journalist and author
- Jan-Gunnar Isberg (born 1947), Swedish brigadier general
- Jan Gunnar Røise (born 1975), Norwegian actor
- Jan Gustafsson (born 1979), German chess Grandmaster
- Jan Hammer (born 1948), Czech musician
- Jan de Hartog (1914–2002), Dutch writer
- Jan Heweliusz (1611–1687), Polish astronomer
- Jan van Hooff (born 1936), Dutch biologist
- Jan Hooks (1957–2014), American actress
- Jan Howard (1929–2020), American country music singer
- Jan Hron (born 1941), Czech agroscientist, Rector of University of Life Sciences Prague
- Jan Huitema (born 1984), Dutch politician
- Jan Hus (burned 1415), Czech religious reformer
- Jan Jacobsz May, Dutch seafarer and explorer
- Jan Jagla (born 1981), German basketball player
- Jan Janský (1873–1921), Czech scientist, first classified 4 blood types
- Jan Jonsson (born 1952), Swedish Air Force officer
- Jan Kalvoda, (born 1953), Czech politician and lawyer
- Jan Kefer (1906–1941), Czech theurgist, astrologist and occult writer
- Jan Kickert (born 1964), Austrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations
- Jan Koller (born 1973), Czech footballer
- Jan Koum (born 1976), Ukrainian ex. software infrastructure engineer, creator of WhatsApp
- Jan O. Korbel (born 1975), German biologist
- Jan Korte (born 1956), Dutch footballer and manager
- Jan Kubiš (1913–1942), Czech soldier
- Jan Kubíček (1927–2013), Czech painter
- Jan Kvalheim (born 1963), Norwegian beach volleyball player
- Jan Laštůvka (born 1982), Czech footballer
- Jan Lisiecki (born 1995), Polish-Canadian pianist
- Jan Lucemburský (1296–1346), king of Bohemia
- Jan Martín (born 1984), German-Israeli-Spanish basketball player
- Jan Masaryk (1886–1948), Czech diplomat and politician
- Jan Matejko (1838–1893), Polish painter
- Jan Matulka (1890–1972), Czech-American painter
- Jan Močnik (born 1987), Slovenian basketball player
- Jan Mohammad Jamali, politician from Jaffarabad, Balochistan, Pakistan.
- Jan Mohammed Khan, Governor of Uruzgan, Afghanistan.
- Jan Mølby (born 1963), Danish footballer.
- Jan Murray (1916–2006), American stand-up comedian
- Jan Nepomucký (c. 1345–1393), Czech saint
- Jan Neruda (1834–1891), Czech journalist, writer and poet
- Jan Oblak (born 1993), Slovenian professional footballer (goalkeeper)
- Jan Oort (1900–1992), Dutch astronomer
- Jan Õun (born 1977), Estonian footballer
- Jan Palach (1948–1969), Czech student self-immolated in 1969 protesting against the Soviet invasion
- Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587–1629), officer of the Dutch East India Company
- Jan Podebradský (born 1974), Czech decathlete
- Jan Polák (born 1981), Czech footballer
- Jan Ravens (born 1958), English actress
- Jan Reehorst (born 1923), Dutch politician
- Jan van Riebeeck (1619–1677), Dutch seafarer and explorer
- Jan Rubeš (1920–2009), Czech-Canadian singer and actor
- Jan van Ruiten (1931–2016), Dutch politician
- Jan Sladký Kozina (1652–1695), Czech revolutionary leader of Chodové
- Jan Šimák (born 1978), Czech footballer
- Jan Smuts (1870–1950), South African statesman
- Jan Shearer (born 1958), New Zealand sailor
- Jan Soukup (born 1979), Czech karateka and kickboxer
- Jan Staaf (born 1962), Swedish race walker
- Jan Šťastný (c.1764–c.1830) was a Czech composer.
- Jan Šťastný (canoeist) (born 1970), Czech canoeist
- Ján Šťastný (hockey player) (born 1982), Slovak hockey player
- Jan Steen (c.1626–1679), Dutch artist
- Jan Stenerud (born 1942), Norwegian American football player
- Jan Paul Strid (1947–2018), Swedish toponymist
- Jan Stussy (1921–1990), American artist
- Jan Ullrich (born 1973), German former professional road bicycle racer
- Jan van der Marck (1929 – 2010) Dutch-born American museum administrator, art historian, and curator.
- Jan Van Loon, Dutch settler
- Jan Veentjer (born 1938), Dutch field hockey player
- Jan Verroken (1917–2020), Belgian politician
- Jan Vertonghen (born 1987), Belgian footballer
- Jan Erazim Vocel (1803–1871), Czech poet, archaeologist, historian and cultural revivalist
- Jan Vetter (born 1963), lead singer of German punk band Die Ärzte, commonly known as Farin Urlaub
- Jan Uuspõld (born 1973), Estonian actor and musician
- Jan-Michael Vincent (1944–2019), American actor
- Jan Washausen (born 1988), German footballer
- Jan-Michael Williams (born 1984), Trinidadian footballer
- Jan de Wit (born 1945), Dutch politician and lawyer
- Jan Wohlschlag (born 1958), American high jumper
- Jan Žižka z Trocnova (c.1360–1424), Czech hussite leader
- Jan Zoon (1923–2016), Dutch politician
People (middle name)
- Kim Dickens (born Kimberly Jan Dickens) (born 1965), American actress
People (last name)
- Dominique Jan, Columbia University surgeon
- Georg Jan (1791–1866), Italian taxonomist
- Masood Jan, Pakistani blind cricketer
In popular culture
- "Jan" - Grease (1978)
- "Jan Brady - née Jan Martin" - The Brady Bunch (1969–1974)
- "Jan Levinson" - The Office (2005–2013)
- "Jan Valek" - Vampires (1998)
- "Jan" - Bring It On (2000)
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d Duden Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (6 ed.). Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. 2006. ISBN 3-411-04066-1.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Instituut, Meertens. "NVB - populariteit voornaam Jan". www.meertens.knaw.nl. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "'Jan' meest voorkomende voornaam in historie Oranje". Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Jan (Persoonsnaam)". www.etymologiebank.nl. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- Given names
- Surnames
- Belarusian masculine given names
- Circassian masculine given names
- Circassian feminine given names
- Czech masculine given names
- Dutch masculine given names
- English feminine given names
- Estonian masculine given names
- German masculine given names
- Norwegian masculine given names
- Polish masculine given names
- Scandinavian masculine given names
- Swedish masculine given names