Given name & surname · Belarusian · Russian · Ukrainian
Ян
“God is gracious”
Ян (Jan) is a masculine given name from Polish, ultimately from Ancient Greek. It is used in Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.
Belarusian and Russian and UkrainianWritten in Cyrillic script. In English: John.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ян is Jan written in Cyrillic. In Slavic use, Jan carries the interpretation “God is gracious.” In English use, Jan is a diminutive of Jane. In Hebrew use, Jane carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Ян comes from Polish, and ultimately from Ancient Greek.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Ukrainian usage, Ян developed from Jan. In Russian usage, Ян developed from Ἰωάννης.
Ян’s family of names
In Belarusian usage, Ян has a diminutive in Я́нка. In Ukrainian usage, Ян developed from the Polish form Jan. In Ukrainian usage, Ян has a conventional equivalent in the English form John.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ян has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Ян comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- JohnEnglish
- IanEnglish
- Янаhas masculine form
- Jánequivalent
- Я́наfeminine form
- Яні́наfeminine form
- 얀Korean
- Іва́нdoublet · Ukrainian, Belarusian
Show 1 moreShow fewer
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ян
- Yan GamarnikSoviet general (1894-1937)
- Yan FrenkelUkrainian composer (1920-1989)1924–1989
- Yan Vorogovskyassociation football playerborn 1996
- Yan KaminskyRussian ice hockey playerborn 1971
- Jan TalesnikovIsraeli footballerborn 1972
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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