Joan (given name)
 Joan of Arc was largely responsible for the popularity of the name Joan for girls in the English-speaking world in recent years. | |
| Pronunciation | /dʒoʊn/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Mainly Female and Sometimes Male |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | The Lord is merciful |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Joanna, Joanne |
Joan is mainly a female name in the English and French languages; also Joan ([ʒuˈan], [dʒoˈan]) is a male name in Catalan and Occitan.[a] It is related to the names John, Jane, Jean, Jeanne, Johan, Joanna, Juan, João, Ivana, Jovan, Jovana, Jovanka, Ioan, Ioana, Jan, Jann, Yanne, Jouan, Ivan, and Siobhán.
The English female name is an English form of the Old French name Johanne, a female variant of the male name Johannes. The name ultimately derives from the Biblical Hebrew name יוחנן Yôḥānān, short for יהוחנן Yəhôḥānān, meaning "Yahweh is merciful". People and fictional characters named Joan include:
Women
Medieval period
- Saint Joan (disambiguation)
- Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), French Roman Catholic saint and martyr
- Joan I (disambiguation)
- Joan I (disambiguation)
- Joan of England (disambiguation)
- Joan of France (disambiguation)
- Joan of Habsburg (disambiguation)
- Joan of Naples (disambiguation)
- Joan of Navarre (disambiguation)
- Joan of Portugal (disambiguation)
- Joan of Scotland (disambiguation)
- Joan of Valois (disambiguation)
- Joan, Lady of Wales (1188–1237), wife of Llywelyn the Great, the Prince of Wales, and daughter of King John of England
- Joan of Acre (1272-1307) daughter of Edward I of England
- Joan, Countess of Blois (died 1292)
- Joan the Lame (1293–1348), first Queen consort of Philip VI of France
- Joan of Lancaster (1310–1345)
- Joan of Lusignan (died 1322)
- Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384)
- Joan of The Tower (1321–1362), first Queen consort of David II of Scotland
- Joan of Kent (1328–1385), Princess of Wales, "the fair maid of Kent", wife of Edward the Black Prince and mother of King Richard II of England
- Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland (c. 1379-1440), daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, wife of Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Boteler of Wem
- Joan of Spain (1535–1573), Infanta of Spain
Modern era
- Joan Allen, American film actress
- Joan Anim-Addo, Grenadian-born academic, poet, playwright and publisher
- Joan Armatrading, British singer
- Joan Baez, American folk singer-songwriter
- Joan Barclay, American actress
- Joan Bennett (1910–1990), American stage, film and television actress
- Joan Benoit, American marathon runner
- Joan Bielski, (1923 – 2012), Australian activist
- Joan Blondell, American actress
- Joan Caulfield (1922–1991), American film actress
- Joan Collins, English television and film actress and author
- Joan Crawford, American actress
- Joan Cusack, American film actress
- Joan Didion, American writer
- Joan Dowling (1928–1954), British actress
- Joan Fontaine (1917−2013), British-American actress
- Joan Hackett (1934–1983), American stage, film and television actress
- Joan B. Hague, New York assemblywoman 1979–1982
- Joan Hansen, American long-distance runner
- Joan Hickson (1906-1998), British actress
- Joan Jara (née Turner), British-Chilean dancer and widow of Víctor Jara
- Joan Jett, American musician
- Joan Kennedy (disambiguation)
- Joan Marie Laurer, American pornographic actress, bodybuilder, model, and former professional wrestler Chyna
- Joan Leemhuis-Stout, Dutch politician
- Joan Lindsay, Australian author, best known for her novel Picnic at Hanging Rock
- Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor, Nigerian politician
- Joan Orenstein, Canadian actress
- Joan Rivers (1933−2014), American comedian, talk show host and businesswoman
- Joan R. Rosenblatt (born 1926), American statistician
- Joan Shakespeare, sister of William Shakespeare
- Joan Sutherland, Australian opera singer
- Joan Tower, American composer
- Joan Wyndham, British writer and memoirist
Men
- John (knez) or Joan, a cneaz in Wallachia around 1247
- Joan Blaeu (1596–1673), Dutch cartographer
- Joan Capdevila (born 1978), Catalan footballer
- Joan Cornellà (born 1981), Catalan cartoonist and illustrator
- Joan Daemen (born 1965), Belgian cryptographer and inventor of Rijndael
- Joan Gamper (1877–1930), Swiss-born Catalan footballer and businessman most famous as the founder of FC Barcelona
- Joan Gaspart (born 1944), Catalan businessman and president of FC Barcelona (2000–2003)
- Joan Laporta (born 1962), Catalan lawyer and president of FC Barcelona (2003–2010)
- Joan Llaneras (born 1969), Spanish track cyclist
- Joan Martorell (1833–1906), Catalan architect
- Joan Mir (born 1997), Spanish motorcycle racer
- Joan Miró (1893–1983), Catalan artist
- Joan Ribó (born 1947), Spanish politician
- Joan Sebastian (1951–2015), Mexican vocalist
- Joan Manuel Serrat (born 1943), Catalan and Spanish song-writer
- Joan Verdú (born 1983), Catalan footballer
- Joan Voûte (1879–1963), Dutch astronomer
- Joan Comorera (1894-1958), Catalan communist politician
Fictional characters
- Pope Joan, 9th century legend
- Joan Ferguson (Wentworth), a character from the TV series Wentworth
- Joan Watson, a character from the TV series Elementary, played by Lucy Liu
- Sow Joan, an Animal Crossing series character
See also
- All Wikipedia pages starting with "Joan..."
- Darby and Joan, expression for a happily married couple who led a placid, uneventful life
- Joanie
Explanatory notes
- ^ Initial "J" pronounced more like English than Spanish.
This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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