Given name & surname · also Latin
Ján
“Yahweh is gracious”
Ján is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew. It is used in Slovak.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ján goes back to Hebrew יחב, meaning “Yahweh is gracious.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Ján comes from Latin, and ultimately from Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Slovak usage, Ján developed from Ἰωάννης.
Ján’s family of names
In Slovak usage, Ján has a diminutive in Jano. In Slovak usage, Ján developed from the Ancient Greek form Ἰωάννης. In Slovak usage, Ján has a conventional equivalent in the English form John.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ján has relatives in 10 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
12 related names in 10 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
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 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ján
- Ján KollárSlovak author writing in Czech (1793–1852)
- Ján MuchaSlovak association football player (1982–)
- RoscellinusFrench philosopher1050–1121
- Ján ĎuricaSlovak footballerborn 1981
- Ján PopluhárSlovak footballer (1935–2011)
- Ján GregušSlovak association football playerborn 1991
- Ján ZacharaCzechoslovak boxer (1928–2025)
- Ján Chryzostom KorecSlovak jesuit, cardinal and writer (1924–2015)
- Ján KozákSlovak footballer (born 1954)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ján, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jón
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Jashen
“sleeping”
91% boys · 9% girls
Javé
“to become” · “he causes to become”
—
Jānis
Jānis is a masculine given name from Hebrew. It is used in Latvian.
>99% boys
Adán
“earth, man, soil, light brown”
>99% boys
Ahban
“brother of intelligence” · “brother of son”
>99% boys
Jónatan
“whom the Lord gave”
>99% boys
Jahweh
“he who causes” · “whilst causing”
>99% boys