unisex name
Jan
YAHN
- Origin Dutch
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 83,985
Northern Ireland
#376
2022 births
Jan is 66 percent female in our records because two unrelated uses collide — it is the ordinary man's name for John across Dutch, Polish and Czech, and a woman's short form of Janet and Janice in English.
- Jan is a name of Dutch origin.
- Peaked in 1954, when 3,761 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 63,759 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1902.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jan over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 16 |
| 1910s | 278 |
| 1920s | 550 |
| 1930s | 3,482 |
| 1940s | 14,061 |
| 1950s | 31,892 |
| 1960s | 15,224 |
| 1970s | 4,373 |
| 1980s | 2,319 |
| 1990s | 1,225 |
| 2000s | 2,143 |
| 2010s | 975 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 396 |
What Jan means
Jan means God is gracious, carried from John. The Hebrew joins a form of the divine name to a verb meaning to show favor, so it states something about God.
Where Jan comes from
Jan is the standard form of John in Dutch, Polish, Czech and Slovak, from the Latin Johannes and behind it the Hebrew Yochanan. Separately, English-speaking women use Jan as a short form of Janet, Janice and Janine, all of which descend from the same John by longer routes. So the two uses are the same name arriving twice, which is why a single spelling reads as an ordinary man's name in Amsterdam and a woman's name in Manchester.
Jan in use
Jan peaked in the United States in 1954, when 3,761 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 385th in Ireland on 10 births, 577th in Scotland on 5, 643rd in England and Wales on 60, 2737th in the United States on 47 and 2875th in France on 10, across 83,985 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. About 66 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Jan?
In 2025, Jan was given to 52 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jan is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jan in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jan
What does the name Jan mean?
God is gracious — the standard Dutch, Polish and Czech form of John.
Is Jan a man's or woman's name?
Both, by separate routes — a man's name in Dutch and Polish, a woman's short form of Janet in English.
How is Jan pronounced?
YAHN in Dutch and Polish; English speakers usually say it as in January.
Where is Jan used?
Five of our six markets, strongest in Ireland at 385th.
How popular is the name Jan?
In 2025, Jan was given to 52 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Jan a girl's or a boy's name?
Jan is used for both girls and boys. About 65% of recorded births with this name are girls.
How many syllables are in Jan?
Jan has 1 syllable.
When was Jan most popular?
Jan peaked in 1954, when 3,761 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Jan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jan currently ranks #385 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.