Jan
Feminine · “God is gracious”
Jan is given to both — 54,531 girls and 22,403 boys since 1880. See Jan as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Jan is three letters that mean one thing in America and something quite different in the Netherlands. Here it is the front of Janet or Janice; there it is the ordinary Dutch form of John, and it belongs to men.
How old is the name Jan?
Jan first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Jan alive today was born around 1957, making them about 68 years old. About 43,500 people named Jan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jan most popular?
Jan peaked in 1954, reaching #131 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 14,811 places below that high. See the whole 1954 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yohanan to Jan
The story of Jan
Jane came into English from French in the Middle Ages, and Scotland extended it to Janet with a diminutive ending. Janice appeared much later, first in an American novel of 1899, and both were common in the mid-twentieth century, which gave Jan two parents at once. American families registered it as a legal name from the 1930s, peaking in the early 1950s. Dutch Jan has been in continuous use for far longer and remains unmistakably masculine there.
Meaning
God is gracious
Through Jane, Janet or Janice, from the French Jehanne, feminine of Jehan — John — and so from the Hebrew Yohanan, 'the Lord is gracious'. The Dutch masculine Jan reaches the same root by the direct route, without the feminine ending.
How the name formed
- Yohanan
- Jehanne
- Jane
- Janet
- Jan
Related forms: Jan · Jan · Janet · Jeanne
Pronouncing Jan
JAN
One syllable in English. Dutch and Polish say the same spelling as YAHN, which is a different sound entirely.
Nicknames for Jan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1911
- Most girls named
- 19572,991 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #131reached in 1954
- Change vs 2020
- 0.0%5 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jan in Dutch — same name
- Jan in Polish — same name
- Janet in Scottish — related form
- Jeanne in French — related form
Jans among us
people named Jan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Jan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Miriam test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Miriam climbed just as high around 1917, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Miriam's path sketches the road Jan is walking now.
Jan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Jan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It sits inside the largest name family in Europe, with cousins in every language.
- Three letters, one syllable, and never misheard in English.
- Janet, Janice and Jane are all available as formal forms.
- In Dutch and Polish the same spelling is a man's name, said quite differently.
- Given outright it stays informal and is closely tied to the mid-twentieth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Jan
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 43,500 people named Jan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jan in 2025?
- Jan ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jan?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Jan — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jan with classmates?
- Jan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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