# Jan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/jan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Dutch |
| Meaning | “john” |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒæn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 76,934 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 22,403 / 54,531 (71% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,177, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old French Jehan (“John”). Doublet of John.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 9 | 11,069 |
| 2005 | 10 | 10,436 |
| 2006 | 6 | 15,925 |
| 2007 | 6 | 16,315 |
| 2009 | 8 | 12,946 |
| 2010 | 5 | 18,137 |
| 2011 | 7 | 13,950 |
| 2012 | 8 | 12,702 |
| 2013 | 7 | 13,765 |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,303 |
| 2016 | 5 | 17,331 |
| 2019 | 5 | 16,561 |
| 2020 | 5 | 16,139 |
| 2021 | 5 | 16,260 |
| 2025 | 5 | 15,898 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 116 | 1,426 |
| 2012 | 107 | 1,505 |
| 2013 | 112 | 1,469 |
| 2014 | 84 | 1,787 |
| 2015 | 93 | 1,685 |
| 2016 | 84 | 1,804 |
| 2017 | 63 | 2,158 |
| 2018 | 82 | 1,843 |
| 2019 | 54 | 2,472 |
| 2020 | 69 | 2,056 |
| 2021 | 62 | 2,262 |
| 2022 | 68 | 2,157 |
| 2023 | 69 | 2,118 |
| 2024 | 66 | 2,198 |
| 2025 | 47 | 2,731 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3 | 3,912 |
| 2003 | 4 | 3,594 |
| 2005 | 5 | 3,382 |
| 2006 | 5 | 3,548 |
| 2007 | 4 | 4,294 |
| 2010 | 4 | 4,688 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 147 | 303 |
| 2012 | 188 | 256 |
| 2013 | 200 | 252 |
| 2014 | 190 | 261 |
| 2015 | 206 | 251 |
| 2016 | 200 | 265 |
| 2017 | 238 | 226 |
| 2018 | 207 | 248 |
| 2019 | 165 | 296 |
| 2020 | 153 | 301 |
| 2021 | 122 | 370 |
| 2022 | 92 | 439 |
| 2023 | 96 | 411 |
| 2024 | 76 | 514 |
| 2025 | 57 | 639 |

## People named Jan

- Jan Hus, Czech theologian, philosopher and preacher (1369-1415)
- Jan van Eyck, Flemish painter (c.1390–1441)
- Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist (1903–1994)
- Jan Neruda, Czech poet, theater reviewer, publicist, journalist and writer (1834-1891)
- Jan Palach, Czech student who killed himself by self-immolation in protest (1948–1969)
- Jan Vertonghen, Belgian association football player (born 1987)
- Jan Hendrik Oort, Dutch astronomer (1900–1992)
- Jan Žižka, Czech Hussite military leader (circa 1360 - 1424)
- Jan Železný, Czech javelin thrower and sports official
- Jan Koller, Czech footballer
- Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech biologist, physiologist, doctor, inventor and politician (1787–1869)
- Jan Fischer, Czech politician (born 1951)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.