Jan

See also: Appendix:Variations of "jan"

English

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Jan

2. Abbreviation of January.

   Alternative forms: Jan., JAN

   Coordinate terms: Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep/Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec

3. A male given name from Dutch.

Translations

abbreviation of January

• Afrikaans: Jan. (af)
• Albanian: jan
• Amharic: ጃን (ǧan)
• Armenian: հնվ (hnv)
• Azerbaijani: yan (az)
• Basque: urt.
• Belarusian: сту (stu)
• Bengali: জানু (bn) (janu)
• Bulgarian: яну (janu), ян. (jan.)
• Burmese: ဇန် (jan)
• Catalan: gen. (ca)
• Czech: led (cs)
• Danish: jan.
• Dutch: jan (nl) m
• Estonian: jaan (et)
• Finnish: tammi (fi), tammik.
• French: janv. (fr)
• Galician: xan.
• Georgian: იან. (ian.)
• German: Jan. (de)
• Greek: Ιαν (Ian)
• Hebrew: ינו׳ (yanu')
• Hindi: जन॰ (jan.)
• Hungarian: jan. (hu)
• Icelandic: jan. (is)
• Indonesian: Jan
• Italian: gen., gen (it)
• Kannada: ಜನ (kn) (jana)
• Kazakh: қаң. (qaŋ.)
• Kyrgyz: янв. (yanv.)
• Latvian: janv.
• Lithuanian: saus.
• Macedonian: јан. (jan.)
• Malay: Jan (ms)
• Malayalam: ജനു (ml) (janu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: jan. (no)

• Polish: sty (pl)
• Portuguese: jan. m
• Punjabi: ਜਨ (jan)
• Romanian: ian.
• Russian: янв. (ru) (janv.)
• Scottish Gaelic: Faoi (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: јан m

  Latin: jan m, sij m (Croatia)

• Slovak: jan (sk), jan.
• Slovene: jan.
• Spanish: ene., ene (es)
• Swahili: Jan
• Swedish: jan. (sv), jan (sv)
• Tagalog: Ene., Ene
• Tamil: ஜன. (jaṉa.)
• Telugu: జన (te) (jana)
• Thai: ม.ค. (th) (mɔɔ.kɔɔ.)
• Turkish: Oca
• Ukrainian: січ. (sič.)
• Uzbek: yan (uz)
• Welsh: Ion m

Etymology 2

From Old French Jehan (“John”). Doublet of John.

Pronunciation

• enPR: jăn
• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒæn/
• (Standard Southern British, Northern England, Scotland, Wales) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒan/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛn/
• Rhymes: -æn

Proper noun

Jan

1. (dated) A male given name from Hebrew.

Etymology 3

A clipping or hypochoristic form of Janet, Janice, Janine, Janis, etc.

Doublet of Ivanka, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna.

Pronunciation

• enPR: jăn, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒæn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æn

Proper noun

Jan

1. A female given name.
   • 1899, Paul Leicester Ford, chapter 1, in Janice Meredith:

     "Yes, Mommy," answered Janice. Then she turned to her friend and asked, "Shall I wear my light chintz and kenton kerchief, or my purple and white striped Persian?" "Sufficiently smart for a country lass, Jan," cried her friend.

   • 2008, Stephen King, Just after Sunset, Simon and Schuster, published 2009, →ISBN, page 129:

     She's startled. How long has it been since he called her Jax instead of Janet or Jan? The last is a nickname she secretly hates. It makes her think of that syrupy-sweet actress on Lassie when she was a kid, the little boy (Timmy, his name was Timmy) always fell down a well or got bitten by a snake or trapped under a rock, and what kind of parents put a kid's life in the hands of a fucking collie?

   • 2025 March 26, Jordan Valinsky, “Chili’s is opening a retro restaurant in Scranton that celebrates ‘The Office’”, in CNN‎^[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 16 April 2025:

     Chili’s has also enlisted several actors from “The Office” to star in the ads, including Melora Hardin (Jan Levinson), Andy Buckley (David Wallace), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone) and Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer).

Derived terms

• not happy, Jan
• sure, Jan

Etymology 4

From various European languages, ultimately from Latin Johannes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɑːn/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /jæn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːn, -æn
• Homophone: yarn (non-rhotic)

Proper noun

Jan

1. A male given name, equivalent to English John.
   • 2012 May 24, John D. Sutter, “Welcome to the world’s nicest prison”, in CNN‎^[2], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 26 July 2026:

     Jan Petter Vala is serving part of a 10-year murder sentence on a posh island in southern Norway.

Derived terms

• Janson

Anagrams

• JNA, Jna.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjan]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Biblical Hebrew יהוה (YHWH)

Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹ־ (yəhō-)

Biblical Hebrew חַנּוּן (ḥannūn)

Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥɔnɔn)bor.

Koine Greek Ῐ̓ωᾰ́ννης (Ĭōắnnēs)bor.

Latin Iōannēsbor.

Old Czech Jan

Czech Jan

Inherited from Old Czech Jan, borrowed from Latin Iōannēs.

Proper noun

Jan m anim (female equivalent Jana or Janička, possessive adjective Janův, diminutive Honza or Janek or Janeček or Jenda or Jeník or Jeníček)

1. a male given name, equivalent to English John

Declension

Declension of Jan (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	Jan	Janové, Jani
genitive	Jana	Janů
dative	Janovi, Janu	Janům
accusative	Jana	Jany
vocative	Jane, Jene	Janové, Jani
locative	Janovi, Janu	Janech
instrumental	Janem	Jany

Further reading

• “Jan”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “Jan”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “Jan”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026
• “Jan”, in Příjmení.cz (in Czech)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Proper noun

Jan

1. genitive plural of Jana

Danish

Proper noun

Jan

1. a male given name, popular in the 20th century, equivalent to English John

Related terms

• (surnames) Jansen
• Jens and its variants

References

• [3] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 46 783 males with the given name Jan have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Alternative forms

• jan

Etymology

From Middle Dutch jan, from Latin Iōhannēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן. Shortening of Johannes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɑn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Jan
• Rhymes: -ɑn

Proper noun

Jan m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English John

Derived terms

• boven Jan zijn
• Jan Boerenfluitjes
• Jan Boezeroen
• Jan en alleman
• Jan en klein Piereke
• Jan Fuselier
• Jan Klaassen
• Jan Lubbes
• Jan met de pet
• Jan Modaal
• Jan Rap
• Jan Soldaat
• janboerenlul
• jandoedel
• jangort
• janhagel
• janmaat
• Jansen
• Jantje, jantje
• jantje-van-leiden
• liever blode Jan dan dode Jan
• voor Jan Lul
• voor Jan met de korte achternaam

Related terms

• (variants) Jannes, Jantje, Johan, Johannes
• (feminine form) Janneke, Jannie, Jannetje, Jantje, Johanna
• (surnames) Jans, Janse, Jansen, Jansse, Janssen, Jansz

Further reading

• “Jan” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Faroese

Proper noun

Jan m

1. a male given name

Usage notes

Patronymics

• Jan's son: Jansson
• Jan's daughter: Jansdóttir

Declension

	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Jan
accusative	Jan
dative	Jani
genitive	Jans

German

Alternative forms

• (rare) Jaan, Jahn, Jann

Etymology

From Central and Low German dialects. Modern use may have been reinforced by related Germanic and Slavic forms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jan/, (seldom also) /jaːn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an, -aːn

Proper noun

Jan m (proper noun, strong, genitive Jans or (with an article) Jan)

1. a male given name, variant of Johann, popular in the later 20th century

Derived terms

• Dummerjan
• Liederjan

Related terms

• Hannes
• Hans
• Jannes
• Johannes

Indonesian

Proper noun

Jan

1. abbreviation of Januari (“January”)

   Coordinate terms: Feb, Mar, Apr, Mei, Jun, Jul, Agu, Sep, Okt, Nov, Des

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• Janne (Eupen)
• Jean
• Jón
• Sjeng
  • Schäng (Eupen)

Proper noun

Jan m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English John

See also

• Hans

Malay

Proper noun

Jan

1. abbreviation of Januari (“January”)

   Coordinate terms: Feb, Mac, Apr, Mei, Jun, Jul, Ogo, Sep, Okt, Nov, Dis

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• Jahn, Jann

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch Jan (“male given name”) and West Frisian Jan (“male given name”) in the eighteenth century. Both are contracted forms corresponding to Johannes. The name ultimately derives from Latin Iohannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “Yahweh is gracious”). Doublet of Jon (“male given name”), the older traditional Norwegian form.

Compare Danish Jan, Swedish Jan, German Jan, Polish Jan and Czech Jan (“male given name”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɑːn/
• Rhymes: -ɑːn
• Homophone: Jahn
• Hyphenation: Jan

Proper noun

Jan

1. a diminutive of the male given name Johannes, from Dutch [in turn from Latin, in turn from Koine Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew] or from West Frisian [in turn from Latin, in turn from Koine Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], equivalent to English John

Usage notes

• The Norwegian name day for Jan is 24 September.
• The use of Jan increased sharply from the 1920s. More than four percent of boys born annually from 1940 through 1964 received the name, and it ranked first among boys' names from 1940 through 1973.
• Its one-syllable form made Jan particularly common as the first element of double given names, such as Jan Ivar and Jan Helge.
• During the nineteenth century, the name was most strongly represented in Hordaland and Bergen.

Derived terms

• Jana (“partly a female derivative”)
• Janna (“female derivative”)
• Janne (“female derivative; male pet form”)
• Jannik (“diminutive”)
• Jansen (“patronymic surname, originally “son of Jan””)
• Jansdatter (“historical patronymic, “daughter of Jan””)

Statistics

• According to Statistics Norway, 43,472 men in Norway had Jan as their sole or first given name as of 31 December 2025.

References

• “Jan” in Store norske leksikon.
• Kristoffer Kruken and Ola Stemshaug, Norsk personnamnleksikon, 3rd edition, Det Norske Samlaget, 2013.
• “Jan” at Nordic Names.

Anagrams

• nja

Old Czech

Alternative forms

• Ján

Etymology

Etymology tree

Biblical Hebrew יהוה (YHWH)

Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹ־ (yəhō-)

Biblical Hebrew חַנּוּן (ḥannūn)

Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥɔnɔn)bor.

Koine Greek Ῐ̓ωᾰ́ννης (Ĭōắnnēs)bor.

Latin Iōannēsbor.

Old Czech Jan

Borrowed from Latin Iōannēs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈjan/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈjan/

Proper noun

Jan m pers (diminutive Jěnek or Jěník)

1. a male given name, equivalent to English John

Declension

Declension of Jan (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	Jan	Jany	Jěni, Janové
genitive	Jana	Janú	Janóv
dative	Janu, Janovi	Janoma	Janóm
accusative	Jana	Jany	Jany
vocative	Jěne	Jany	Jěni, Janové
locative	Janu, Janovi	Janú	Jěniech
instrumental	Janem	Janoma	Jany

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

• Czech: Jan

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “Jan”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin Iōhannēs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjan/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: Jan

Proper noun

Jan m pers (diminutive Janek or Jaś or Jasiek or Jasio or Janko)

1. a male given name from Late Latin [in turn from Koine Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], equivalent to English John

Declension

Declension of Jan

	singular	plural
nominative	Jan	Janowie, Jany1
genitive	Jana	Janów
dative	Janowi	Janom
accusative	Jana	Janów
instrumental	Janem	Janami
locative	Janie	Janach
vocative	Janie	Janowie

¹Deprecative.

Further reading

• “Jan”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jàːn/
• Homophone: ján

Etymology 1

Ultimately from Late Latin Iōhannēs.

Proper noun

Ján m anim (female equivalent Jána)

1. a diminutive of the male given name Janko, from Late Latin [in turn from Koine Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], equivalent to English John

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	Ján
gen. sing.	Jána
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	Ján	Jána	Jáni
genitive (rodȋlnik)	Jána	Jánov	Jánov
dative (dajȃlnik)	Jánu	Jánoma	Jánom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	Jána	Jána	Jáne
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	Jánu	Jánih	Jánih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	Jánom	Jánoma	Jáni

Related terms

• Jančar
• Jančič
• Janez
• Janež
• Janko
• Janša
• Janšič
• Janus
• Januš
• Janža
• Janžekovič
• Janžič

Further reading

• “Jan”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Proper noun

Ján

1. inflection of Jána:
   1. genitive dual
   2. genitive plural

Swahili

Proper noun

Jan

1. abbreviation of Januari (“January”)

   Coordinate terms: Feb, Mac, Apr, Mei, Jun, Jul, Ago, Sep, Okt, Nov, Des

Swedish

Etymology

Contraction of Johan (“John”). Recorded in Sweden since the 17th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjɑːn]

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Jan c (genitive Jans)

1. a male given name

Usage notes

• Common first part of hyphenated names such as Jan-Erik or Jan-Olof.

Related terms

• Johannes and its variants
• (surname) Jansson

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• [5] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 129 738 males with the given name Jan living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Anagrams

• nja

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from West Circassian джан (džan, “sharp, great”) and East Circassian жан (žan, “sharp, smart”).

Proper noun

Jan

1. a male given name from West Circassian, popular among Circassians in Turkey.