Johan

See also: johan and Jóhan

English

Etymology

An archaic variant of Joan, from Old French Johan, from Latin Johanna. Cf. John.

Proper noun

Johan

1. A female given name from Hebrew.
   • 1893, Frank Peel, Spen Valley, Past and Present, Senior and Co, published 1893, page 64:

     William, the youthful heir, grew up, married and died, as we have already seen, of the sweating sickness, leaving only a daughter named Johan or Jennett, who was but two months old at his death […]

Usage notes

• Included in the 100 most common given names of women born in Scotland in 1900.

Derived terms

• Johannism
• Johannite
• Johanson

Anagrams

• Jonah

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch Johan.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Johan

1. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English John

Czech

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈjoɦan]

Proper noun

Johan m anim (female equivalent Johanová)

1. a male surname

Declension

Declension of Johan (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	Johan	Johanové
genitive	Johana	Johanů
dative	Johanovi	Johanům
accusative	Johana	Johany
vocative	Johane	Johanové
locative	Johanovi	Johanech
instrumental	Johanem	Johany

Further reading

• “Johan”, in Příjmení.cz (in Czech)

Danish

Proper noun

Johan

1. a male given name derived from Johannes (“John”)

Related terms

• (surnames) Johansen

References

• [1] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 22 356 males with the given name Johan have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 19th century. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Etymology

From Johannes.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Johan m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English John

Faroese

Etymology

From Johannes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [joˈhan]

Proper noun

Johan m

1. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English John

Usage notes

Patronymics

• Johan's son: Johansson
• Johan's daughter: Johansdóttir

Declension

	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Johan
accusative	Johan
dative	Johani
genitive	Johans

Malay

Alternative forms

• Jihan f

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian جهان (jahān, “world”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (gyhʾn' /⁠gēhān⁠/, “worldly creatures, world”), from plural genitive form of Proto-Iranian *gay-θā-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʒo.han]
• Rhymes: -han, -an
• Hyphenation: Jo‧han

Proper noun

Johan (Jawi spelling جوهن)

1. a male given name from Persian, meaning “champion”

Middle English

Proper noun

Johan

1. alternative form of John

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• Johann

Etymology

Derived from German Johan (“male given name”), a short form of Johannes (“male given name”), ultimately from Latin Iōhannēs (“male given name”), from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs, “male given name”), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, “Yahweh is gracious”).

Compare Danish Johan, Swedish Johan, Dutch Johan, German Johann, Faroese Jóhan and Icelandic Jóhann (“male given names”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jʊˈhan/, [jʊˈhanː]
• Rhymes: -an
• Hyphenation: Jo‧han

Proper noun

Johan

1. a male given name from German, equivalent to English John

Usage notes

• The Norwegian name day for Johan is 29 August.
• Johan was particularly popular in Norway during the latter half of the 19th century, ranking second in every five-year period from 1860 through 1899. The royal double name Karl Johan may have contributed to this popularity.

Derived terms

• Johandatter (“historical patronymic meaning “daughter of Johan””)
• Johansen (“patronymic surname”)
• Johansdatter (“historical patronymic meaning “daughter of Johan””)
• Johanssen (“patronymic surname”)

Statistics

• According to Statistics Norway, 9,810 men in Norway had Johan as their sole or first given name as of 31 December 2025.
• In 2025, 175 boys were given the spelling Johan; together with Johann, the name group ranked 41st, with 179 boys.

References

• “Johan” in Store norske leksikon
• “Johan” at Nordic Names

Old Leonese

Alternative forms

• Iohan

Etymology

From Latin Iōannes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒoˈaŋ/

Proper noun

Johan

1. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English John or J'hone
2. (biblical, Christianity) The name of several persons in the Christian Bible, among them John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos.
   • 1247, Fuero de Campumanes:

     e si elli non for ay dallos cada fiesta de Sant Johan Babtista

     and if him weren't able to give him (the money) each festivy of Saint John the Baptist

Descendants

• Asturian: Xuan
• Leonese: Xuan
• Mirandese: Juan, Joan

Old Spanish

Alternative forms

• Johanne, Juan
• Iohan (alternative spelling)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin Iōhannēs

Biblical Hebrew יהוה (YHWH)

Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹ־ (yəhō-)

Biblical Hebrew חַנּוּן (ḥannūn)

Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥɔnɔn)bor.

Koine Greek Ῐ̓ωᾰ́ννης (Ĭōắnnēs)bor.

Latin Iōannēs

Old Spanish Johan

From Latin Iōhannēs or Iōannēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒoˈan/

Proper noun

Johan m

1. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English John
2. (biblical, Christianity) The name of several persons in the Christian Bible, among them John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos.
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 31r:

     Delãt ierico a .ij. milleros en la riƀa del flum iordan es bethania o baptizaua ſant ioħn baptiſta.

     [Delant Jerico a dos milleros, en la ribera del flum Jordan, es Bethania. o baptizava Sant Johan Baptista.]

     Two thousand paces from Jericho, on the bank of the Jordan River, is Bethany, where Saint John the Baptist baptized.

Descendants

• Spanish: Juan
  • → Carolinian: Wan
  • → Classical Nahuatl: Juan
  • → Chinese: 胡安 (Hú'ān) (transliteration)
  • Don Juan → Chinese: 唐璜 (transliteration)
  • → English: Juan
  • → Murui Huitoto: Juan
  • → Tagalog: Juan, Suan

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish Iohan or short form of Johannes (“John”). First recorded in Sweden in runes in the 11th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [²juːan]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

Johan

1. The letter "J" in the Swedish spelling alphabet

Proper noun

Johan c (genitive Johans)

1. a male given name
   • 1975, Christer Kihlman, Dyre prins, Wahlström & Widstrand, →ISBN, page 113:

     Som liten var jag ganska stolt över mitt namn. Donald! Det klingade minsann mäktigare det än både Kalle och Ville och Lasse. Senare, när jag upphöjt mig själv i borgarståndet och för säkerhets skull beseglat min borgerlighet genom äktenskapet med Gunnel Lindermann hade jag uppriktigt sagt gärna hetat nånting annat, nånting mera traditionellt ståndsmässigt, eller från den synpunkten konventionellare, som Johan eller Henrik eller Carl-Gustaf. Till och med Max och Moritz och Niklas hade gått an.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• The most common first name of men born in Sweden in the 1970s and the 1980s.

Related terms

• (male given names) Hampus, Hannes, Hans, Ivan, Jan, Janne, Jens, Johannes, John, Johnny, Jon, Jonny, Jöns
• (female given names) Johanna and its variants
• (surnames) Hansson, Jansson, Johansson, Johannesson, Johnsson, Jonsson, Jönsson

Descendants

• → Finnish: Juhana, Juhani

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• [2] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 172 874 males with the given name Johan living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1990s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.