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 [ 1 syll. ja-ne, jan-e ] The girl name Jane is pronounced JHEYN KEY. Jane has its origins in the Hebrew language and it is used largely in English. The meaning of Jane is 'Yahweh is gracious, Yahweh is merciful'. Biblical name derived from yahweh 'name of God' ; chanan which means 'to be gracious'. The name Johanna was borne by a follower of Jesus in the Bible, who was also the wife of King Herod Antipas' steward. Johanna (Latin) was the equivalent of Ioanna (Old Greek), and it was widely used in the medieval period, giving rise to the name Joan, and later Jane and Jean via Jehanne (Old French), the medieval feminine equivalent of the masculine French name Jean. The name Jane was adopted by English speakers in the 16th century, popularized by the fame of Jane Shore (1445-1527), the mistress of King Edward IV who became the subject of numerous plays and ballads. The name was also made famous by Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554), the ill-fated queen who reigned for only nine days. Jane became more popular than other forms such as Jean and Joan by the 17th century. In the 19th century, it was widely used as a name depicting handmaids in various literary works, and it was also made known by Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847). In the mid-20th century, Jane was well-known as a scantily-clad beauty in a Daily Mirror comic strip; she was dubbed by Churchill as "Britain's secret weapon" in homage to her role in boosting morale among World War II soldiers. Jane is the feminine form of the English John. The name Jane is used to a great extent; it has 187 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Asia (used in Polish as well), Gia (used in Italian as well), Han (used in Chinese as well), Hana (used in Czech, Polish, Slavic, Yiddish, and Japanese as well), Hanna (used in Dutch, Finnish, German, Latvian, Polish, Scandinavian, and Ukrainian as well), Hanni (used in Finnish and German as well), Hannie (used in Dutch as well), Ianna, Iva (used in Czech, Slavic, and Italian as well), Jama (used in Polish as well), Jan, Jana (used in Czech, Dutch, German, Polish, Slavic, and Latvian as well), Janae, Janalyn, Janay, Jandy, Janea, Janean, Janeane, Janeen, Janel, Janela, Janella, Janessa, Janet, Janeta, Janeth, Janetta, Janette (used in German and French as well), Janice, Janina (used in German, Polish, Finnish, Lithuanian, and Scandinavian as well), Janine (used in French and German as well), Janis, Janisa, Janna (used in Dutch, German, and Scandinavian as well), Jannah, Jannelle, Jannette, Jany, Jaunita, Jayna, Jaynell, Jayney, Jayni, Jean (used in Scottish as well), Jeanette (used in French as well), Jeani, Jeanie (used in Scottish as well), Jeanine (used in French as well), Jeanne (used in French and Dutch as well), Jeannette (used in French as well), Jeanné, Jeannine (used in French as well), Jenae, Jenica (used in Romanian as well), Jenna (used in German as well), Jennett, Jenni (used in Finnish as well), Jennie, Jess (used in Scottish as well), Jessi, Jessie (used in Scottish and German as well), Jessy (used in German as well), Jinni, Jinnie, Jinny, Joahanah, Joan, Joana (used in Brazilian, Catalan, and Portuguese as well), Joanka (used in Polish as well), Joann, Joanna (used in Polish as well), Joanne, Joeann, Johanah, Johani, Johanie, Johanka (used in Czech as well), Johanna (used in Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, and Scandinavian as well), Johannah, Johanni, Johna (used in Slavic as well), Johnell, Johnelle, Johnna, Johonna, Joline (used in German as well), Jona (used in Scandinavian and Hebrew as well), Jone (used in Basque as well), Jonelle, Joni, Jonie, Jony, Juhana, Jutta (used in German as well), Nita (used in Spanish and Indian as well), Sean, Seanna, Sharn, Shauna, Shawn, Shawna, Shawnna, Sheena (used in Irish as well), Shena (used in Irish as well), Shona (used in Scottish as well), Shondra, Siobhan (used in Irish as well), and Vanna (used in Italian as well). Other English forms include the short form Jo (used in German as well), the pet forms Janeka, Janelle, Janey, Janie, Jaynie, Jenny, Johnie, and Johnnie, and the spelling variants Jaine and Jayne. Forms of Jane used in foreign languages include the Italian Gian, the Italian Gianina, the Italian Giann, the Italian Gianna, the Italian Giannetta, the Italian Giannina, the French Ginnette, the Italian Giovanna, the German and Scandinavian Hanne, the Finnish and German Hannele, the German Hansi, the German Hansine, the Romanian and Slavic Ioana, the Greek and Russian Ioanna, the Romanian Ionela, the Czech, Russian, Slavic, and Italian Ivana, the Czech and Slavic Ivanka, the Russian and Ukrainian Ivanna, the Russian Iwana, the Czech Janica, the German and Polish Janin, the Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and German Janka, the Finnish, German, and Scandinavian Janne, the French and German Jannine, the Dutch Jantine, the Dutch, Frisian, and German Jantje, the Polish Jasia, the Czech Jenka, the Scandinavian Jensina, the Scandinavian Jensine, the Polish Joasia, the Polish Joasta, the Czech Johana, the French and Scandinavian Johanne, the Dutch Johanneke, the Dutch Joke, the Dutch Jolien, the German Jolina, the Finnish and Scandinavian Jonna, the Slavic Jovana, the Scandinavian Jóhanna, the Scandinavian Jóna, the Spanish Juana, the Spanish Juanita, the Armenian Ohanna, the Irish Seana, the Tongan Seini, the Scottish Seonag, the Scottish Seonaid, the Welsh Sian, the Welsh Siân, the Irish Sinead, the Irish Sinéad, the Irish Siobhán, the Welsh Sioned, the Scottish and Irish Siubhan, the Scottish Sìne, the Irish Síne, the Dutch Sjaan, the Scandinavian Vanja, the Galician Xoana, the Slavic Yana, the Basque and Slavic Yoana, the Latvian Zanna, the Polish Zannz, and the Hungarian Zsanett. The pet form Janita (Dutch, Finnish, and Scandinavian) is another foreign variant. Jane is a form of the English Joan. Jane is also a form of the English and Scottish Jean in the English language. See also the related form, the English Janeann. Jane is an all-time favorite. At present it is still rather popular as a baby girl name, but not as much as it was before. At the peak of its usage in 1945, 0.567% of baby girls were named Jane. It was #36 in rank then. The baby name has substantially slipped in popularity since then, and in recent times it is of only modest use. In 2008, it ranked at #390 with a usage of 0.040%. Out of the family of girl names directly related to Jane, the Italian Gianna was the most commonly used. It was 4 times more popular than Jane in 2008. Baby names that sound like Jane include the English Jaine, the English Jayne, the English Jan, the English Janeann, the English Jann, the Finnish, German, and Scandinavian Janne, the English Jasme, the English and Scottish Jean, the English Jeane, the English Jeanene, the English, French, and Dutch Jeanne, the English Jeanné, the English Jem, the English Jen, the English Jenae, the English Jenn, the English Jenne, the Chinese and English Jin, the English Joan, and the Basque and English Jone. Details of famous persons named Jane: KEY: Pronunciation for Jane: JH as in "gee (JH.IY)" ; EY as in "ate (EY.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
