Jan
Jan is a male name . It represents the Dutch , Polish , Sorbian , Czech , Scandinavian and Low German form of Johannes . In English-speaking countries, Jan is also used as a short form of the female first names Janet and Janice . For the Slovak male first name, see Ján .
Occurrence
The name Jan has been used more and more in Germany since the 1920s. Since 1970, a relatively large number of boys have been called that; since then he has been one of the 20 most popular German boy names. At times it was the most popular boy name for newborns in Germany. In Denmark, Jan is the ninth most common first name overall; in Poland, Norway and the Czech Republic even the most common or second most common first name.
In the West Slavic languages (mainly in Polish and Czech) Jan is the standard form of the given name Johannes or Johann as well as its common translation for biblical figures and rulers. Evangelist John is consequently referred to in Polish and Czech as "Jan Ewangelista" (Polish) or "Jan Evangelista" (Czech) and Pope John Paul II as "Jan Paweł II" or "Jan Pavel II". In Polish one usually even translates Johann Sebastian Bach as "Jan Sebastian Bach".
Jan is often used as the first part of a double name (for example Jan-Niklas, Jan-Philipp), while the second part is less common.
name day
Jan's name day is June 24th ( St. John's Day ).
Name bearer
Male first name
- Jan van der Aa , Dutch cartographer
- Jan Akkerman (* 1946), Dutch guitarist
- Jan Artmann (* 1991), German handball player
- Jan Peter Balkenende (* 1956), Dutch Prime Minister
- Jan Balstad (* 1937), Norwegian politician and trade unionist
- Jan Paul Beahm (1958–1980), American punk rock musician, see Darby Crash
- Jan-Marco Behr (* 1988), German handball player
- Jan Bøhler (* 1952), Norwegian politician
- Jan Böhm (1888–1959), Czechoslovak rose grower
- Jan Böhmermann (* 1981), German satirist, radio and television presenter
- Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625), Dutch / Flemish painter
- Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601–1678), Dutch / Flemish painter
- Jan Brzechwa (1898–1966), Polish poet
- Jan Bühn (* 1991), German motorcycle racer
- Jan Bürger (* 1968), German writer, journalist and literary scholar
- Jan-David Bürger (* 1993), German actor
- Jan Delay (* 1976), German hip-hop, reggae and funk musician
- Jan Fabricius (1871–1964), Dutch playwright and journalist
- Jan Fedder (1955–2019), German actor
- Jan Forstbauer (* 1992), German handball player
- Jan Frodeno (* 1981), German triathlete
- Jan Garbarek (* 1947), Norwegian jazz saxophonist
- Jan Gorr (* 1978), German handball trainer
- Jan Hammer (* 1948), Czech-American musician
- Jan Hendriks (1928–1991), German actor
- Jan Heweliusz (1611–1687), Polish / German astronomer, see Johannes Hevelius
- Jan Hofer (* 1950 or 1952), German news anchor
- Jan Hus (≈1370–1415), Czech reformer
- Jan Jankeje (* 1950), musician
- Jan Jongbloed (* 1940), Dutch football player
- Jan AP Kaczmarek (* 1953), Polish composer
- Jan II Casimir (1609–1672), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, see John II Casimir
- Jan Kiepura (1902–1966), Polish tenor
- Jan Kochanowski (1530–1584), Polish poet
- Jan Kowalewski (1892–1965), Polish cryptanalyst and officer
- Jan Krugier (1928–2008), Polish-Swiss gallery owner and art collector
- Jan Kula (1922–1995), Polish Nordic skier
- Jan Kulczyk (1950–2015), Polish entrepreneur
- Jan Paweł Lelewel (1796–1847), Polish engineer
- Jan Josef Liefers (* 1964), German actor, musician, director and producer
- Jan Józef Lipski (1926–1991), Polish literary critic and politician
- Jan Löhmannsröben (* 1991), German soccer player
- Jan Lundell (* 1963), Swedish pool player
- Jan Lundell (* 1973), Finnish ice hockey goalkeeper
- Jan Mlakar (* 1998), Slovenian football player
- Jan Oelofse (1934–2012), animal keeper and conservationist
- Jan I. Olbracht (1492–1501), King of Poland, see John I (Poland)
- Jan Henry Olsen (1956–2018), Norwegian politician
- Jan Olszewski (1930–2019), Polish lawyer and politician
- Jan Pětr Jordan (1818-1891), Sorbian scientist and philosopher
- Jan Pietrzak (* 1937), Polish cabaret artist
- Jan Philipp (* 1994), German jazz musician
- Jan Puzyna (1842–1911), Polish cardinal
- Jan Rähm , science and technology journalist
- Jan Philipp Reemtsma (* 1952), German literary scholar, social researcher and kidnapping victim
- Jan Schreiner (* 1984), German jazz musician
- Jan Schwippert (* 1990/91), German poker player
- Jan Smit (* 1985), Dutch singer
- Jan III Sobieski (1629–1696), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, see John III. Sobieski
- Jan Sørensen (* 1960), Danish football and poker player
- Jan Spoelder (* 1973), Dutch football player
- Jan Stankiewicz (* 1969), Swedish handball player
- Jan Sterringa (1870–1951), Dutch theosophist and anarchist
- Jan Stöß (* 1973), German SPD politician
- Jan Thijssen (1908–1945), Dutch resistance fighter
- Jan Timman (* 1951), Dutch chess player
- Jan Ullrich (* 1973), German racing cyclist
- Jan Vermeer (1632–1675), Dutch painter
- Jan Větrovec (* 1980), Czech handball player and coach
- Jan Wellem (1658–1716), Elector of the Palatinate, see Johann Wilhelm (Pfalz)
- Jan Werle (* 1984), Dutch chess master
- Jan von Werth (1591–1652), German cavalry general in the Thirty Years' War, see actually Johann von Werth
- Jan Zabystřan (* 1998), Czech ski racer
Female first name
- Jan Bucher (* 1957), American freestyle skier
- Jan Burke (* 1953), American crime writer
- Jan Chapman (* 1950), Australian film producer
- Jan Henne (* 1947), American swimmer
- Jan Heller Levi (* 1954), American poet, author and editor
- Jan Kerouac (1952–1996), American writer
family name
- Anna Jan-Ruban (1874–1955), Russian soprano and vocal teacher
- Dor Jan (* 1994), Israeli soccer player
- Eduard von Jan (1885–1971), German Romanist and Provençalist
- Georg Jan (1791–1866), Austrian zoologist and botanist
- Helmut von Jan (1910–1991), German historian
- Hermann Ludwig von Jan (1851–1908), German cultural and music historian
- Ivo Jan (* 1975), Slovenian ice hockey player
- Ivo Jan senior (* 1942), Slovenian-Yugoslav ice hockey player
- Jože Bogomir Jan (1944-2018), Yugoslav ice hockey player
- Julius von Jan (1897–1964), German Protestant pastor and resistance fighter
- Karl von Jan (1836–1899), German classical philologist and music historian
- Lily Jan (葉公 杼; * 19 ..), Chinese-American neurophysiologist
- Ludwig von Jan (1807–1869), German classical philologist and grammar school director
- Martin Jan (* around 1620, † around 1682), Protestant theologian and musician
- Maulvi Ahmad Jan († 2013), Pakistani terrorist
- Sharmila Jan Nona (* 1999), Sri Lankan athlete
- Wassili Jan (1875–1954), Russian writer
- Yuh Nung Jan (詹裕農; * 19 ..), Chinese-American neurophysiologist
stage name
- Jan Willem (1934–2019), German singer, entertainer and presenter, actually Wilhelm Hempelmann
Ship name
- Jan (ship, 1921) , former Hamburg harbor launch
Fictional characters
- Jan Cux , advertising figure for the city of Cuxhaven
- Jan Hinnerk , folk and mocking song from the Hamburg French era
- Jan Tenner , the protagonist of the radio play series of the same name
- Jan as a detective , Danish book series for young people by Knud Meister and Carlo Andersen
- Father Jan , person in the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm "The Thief and His Master"