Jan (name)

Jan
Pronunciation	Czech: [ˈjan]; German: [ˈjan]; Dutch: [ˈjɑn]; Polish: [ˈjan]
Gender	Unisex
Origin
Word/name	Hebrew
Meaning	"YHWH has been gracious"
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 and is a short version of Johannes, This name Is Dutch

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
(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)

Notes[]

^ There is also a German surname spelled Jan but pronounced [ˈjaːn].

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). "John" . 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.

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
If an led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

[2] There is also a German surname spelled Jan but pronounced [ˈjaːn].

[duden-1] Duden Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (6 ed.). Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. 2006. ISBN 3-411-04066-1.

[3] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

[4] Instituut, Meertens. "NVB - populariteit voornaam Jan". www.meertens.knaw.nl. Retrieved 2015-06-12.

[5] "'Jan' meest voorkomende voornaam in historie Oranje". Retrieved 2015-06-12.

[6] "Jan (Persoonsnaam)". www.etymologiebank.nl. Retrieved 2015-06-12.

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