boy's name
Yanis
ya-NEES
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 69,368
France
#83
2025 births
Yanis is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," a French spelling of the Greek Yannis and so a form of John. It ranks eighty-third in France and is rising, with our records carrying it from 1998.
- Yanis is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2007, when 4,170 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 802 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1967.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Yanis over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 40 |
| 1970s | 350 |
| 1980s | 510 |
| 1990s | 6,325 |
| 2000s | 30,775 |
| 2010s | 22,305 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,165 |
What Yanis means
Yanis means God is gracious. It carries the meaning of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan, and reaches it through the Greek Ioannis and its short form Yannis rather than through the Latin.
Where Yanis comes from
Yanis is a French rendering of the Greek Yannis, itself a short form of Ioannis, the Greek development of the Hebrew Yochanan, God is gracious. The same Hebrew name gives John, Jean, Juan, Giovanni, Ivan and Sean, making it among the most widely dispersed names in the world. The French spelling with one n reflects French rather than Greek orthography. It is also treated by some families as a Berber or Kabyle name, and its rise in France from the late 1990s draws on both Greek and North African lines, which is why the name reads differently depending on which community is using it.
Yanis in use
Yanis ranks eighty-third in France with about 740 births in 2025 and its peak in our records is 2021. Our data carries it from 1998, so its whole history is recent. It appears in Ireland and Scotland but is otherwise thin outside France. Of the many forms of John in our data, this is one of the few that entered French naming through two separate communities at once.
How popular is Yanis?
In 2025, Yanis was given to 735 babies in France, ranking #83 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Yanis is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Yanis is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Yanïs | Yanïs is a rare spelling of Yanis, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 65 times, mostly in France. | 65 |
Names that peaked alongside Yanis
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Yanis also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Yanis over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Yanis 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 Yanis
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Yanis — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Yanis
What does the name Yanis mean?
Yanis means "God is gracious," carried from the Hebrew Yochanan through the Greek Ioannis.
Is Yanis a Greek name?
It is a French spelling of the Greek Yannis, though it is also used as a Berber and Kabyle name.
Is Yanis related to John?
Yes. So are Jean, Juan, Giovanni, Ivan and Sean.
How popular is Yanis?
Eighty-third in France, and rising.
Is Yanis a girl's or a boy's name?
Yanis is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Yanis?
Yanis has 2 syllables.
Is Yanis a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Yanis currently ranks #83 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.