Is Jan A Boy’s Or A Girl’s Name?

In modern Britain we tend to see it more as a girl's name; it started as a variant of Jane. In the past, it was almost exclusively a boy's name, and in the Germanic, Slavic and Nordic countries, it still is. As an English boy's name Jan, like Jane, derives from John (Hebrew "God is merciful/ gracious".) In the Middle Ages Jan was a common variant of John, and there were several other variants, all more or less extinct today. These included Jenkin, which has survived as the surname Jenkins, and the earlier form Jankin, which like many names ending in –kin was a pet or familiar form. The name Jankin can be found in Chaucer; it is the name of the fifth (and the only beloved) husband of his famous character, the Wife of Bath.

Another form of Jan or John is Ian, sometimes spelled Iain; this was originally Scottish but can now be found all over the English-speaking world.

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