article

John (IPA: ) is a common English name for males.

John was for a long time the most popular name in many countries, including the United States. John is also referenced in a "Dear John letter", meaning a breakup letter written by a woman to her soon-to-be-former boyfriend. It was also long the most common male name in the UK, but by 2004 it had fallen out of the top 50 names for new born boys in England and Wales. By contrast Jack, which was originally a nickname for John but is now established as a name in its own right, was the most popular boy's name in England and Wales every year from 1995 to 2005. *

In Britain, King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, and Prince John, the youngest son of King George V, died in his sleep in 1919. As such, the name John has been considered unlucky by the British Royal Family and its use avoided. It was reported that Diana, Princess of Wales wished to name her elder son "John", after her own father, but was prevented from doing so by royal tradition.

John

The name John derives through Jewish and Christian tradition ultimately from the Biblical Hebrew name יוחנן Yôḥānān, short for יהוחנן Yəhôḥānān, meaning "Yahweh is merciful." In Christendom, feminine forms of this name have developed as well, reaching English in the primary forms Jan, Jane, Jean and Joan, and diminutized as Janet. Interestingly, the name has come full circle, entering Israeli Hebrew as the name שון Shon, which derives from English Shawn, which derives from Irish Seán & Séan, which derives from French Jean, which derives from Latin Johann (variants: Iohann and Ivan v is pronounced as 'u'), a simplification of Johannes, which derives from Greek Ιωαννης, Iōhannēs, which was loaned from Mishnaic Hebrew יוחנן Yôḥānān during the Second Temple Period, after John the Apostle and John the Revelator. Originally popularized in non-Jewish society as a Christian name, it has become a fashionable name in various forms in both Christendom and the Islamic World, with widespread secular use.

Jon / Jonathan

Surprisingly, Jonathan is not a variation of John, but a longer version of Nathan. It simply means "gift." Jon is a nickname for Jonathan which has become popular on its own. Therefore, Jon is very often, but not always, short for Jonathan, whereas John, which has a different origin, is not.

This name is almost nonexistent in English, but the variant מתניהו Mattanyāhû spawned the hypocoristic (familiar) form מתי Mattay, which evolved independently in Christendom to become English Matthew.

In English, pet forms of John and Jon have developed, including Johnny and Jonny.

Evolution of the name John

Given names

Джон | Jan | Johannes | Jean | Ιωάννης (όνομα) | Johano | Juan | 요한 (이름) | Jóhannes | Giovanni | ジョン (人名) | Johannes | Jan | João (nome) | Иван | Johan | John

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "John (name)".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world