Given name & surname
Jovan
Jovan is a masculine given name. It is used in English and Serbo-Croatian.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
In mythological stories, Jovan is a name for Jupiter, the supreme god.
Jovan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,063
- 9,984 boys · 1,079 girls
- Most popular year
- 1979
- 329 babies
- 2025
- 93
- #1,746 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 100% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 93 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,746 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,013 as a first name in 2020; 148 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jovan’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Jovan has a diminutive in Jocke. In Serbo-Croatian usage, Jovan has a conventional equivalent in the English form John. In Serbo-Croatian usage, Jovan has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Juan.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jovan has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
9 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jovan
- Jovan DučićBosnian Serb writer and diplomat1871–1943
- Jovan Jovanović ZmajSerbian poet, physician (1833–1904)
- Jovan CvijićSerbian scientist (1865–1927)
- Jovan VladimirSerbian prince of Duklja, Serbian Orthodox Christian saint (990-1016)
- Jovan MijatovićSerbian association football playerborn 2005
- Jovan AdepoBritish actor (born 1988)
- Jovan RistićPrime Minister of Serbia (1831-1899)
- Jovan DivjakBosnian general1937–2021
- Jovan Sterija PopovićSerbian playwright, poet and pedagogue (1806-1856)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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