Comments for the name Jan (1)

This is a very common male name in Sweden. Pet name is Janne.

Jan Myrdal was a Swedish author, political writer and wine columnist.

Jan van Eyck was the one who painted the famous portrait "The Arnolfini Marriage".

It is pronounced more like Yahn. [noted -ed]

My husband and father in law are named Jan, and are of Dutch origin. To my American ears the name sounds exotic and sexy; the sounds are all voiced with no plosives or fricatives for a very smooth, gentle, gliding sound. The name has a feeling of being intellectual and sophisticated, yet simple. In Holland the name is very common, but here it sounds unique to the point where some people we meet are hesitant to pronounce it.

I am a Brazilian male named Jan - when my parents decided on my name it was meant to be pronounced /Yan/, but as in Brazil j sounds like j, people are used to calling me /Jan/ instead of /Yan/. It can be a problem to some American friends for whom Jan is a girlie name.

Jan Rubeš - famous Czech-Canadian actor.

Listen to the German pronunciation of Jan here:
http://www.nordicnames.de/Aussprache.html.

Jan Vermeer painted 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. It's also the name of a book and a movie based on the book. The book's really good! Everyone should read it.

In Sweden it is also common in combinations like Jan-Erik.

Jan is a pretty name. His nicknames are Janko, Janek, Janik, Jenda, Janis.

Jan´s nicknames are Janek, Janko, Jenda, Jeník, Janik, Jannis, Janica, Jéňa ("Yaa-nia"), Jens.

Some famous Czech bearers were the church reformator Jan Hus and Jan Ámos Komenský (Comenius).

Jan is also used in Russia together with the feminine form Jana - another thing is that they both are more of modern names - you won't find easily a person let's say over 40 years old named Jan, unless his origins are Polish, Czech etc. You can check Jan out here: (http://www.russian-translation-pros.com/russian-translation-russia-men-names.html), in Russian here: (http://www.imena.chebot.ru/name/450), or simply with the help of Google - just write in cyrillic alphabet "Yan imya".

Famous Russian Jans include Jan Godovsky, the leading soloist of Bolshoi Ballet and Jan Frenkel, a Soviet composer.

A famous bearer is hockey player Yan Pavol Šťastný, born 30. September, 1982 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Famous bearers:
Musician Jan P. Muchow
Photographer Jan Saudek
Painter Jan Kaplický
Actor Jan Révai
Actor Jan Apolenář
Actor Jan Hrušínský
Actor Jan Hraběta
Actor Jan Dolanský
Actor Jan Antonín Duchoslav
Actor Jan Šťastný
Actor Jan Kanyza
Actor Jan Kačer
Priest Jan Hus, born 1369/1370 Husinec – 6/7/1415 in Kostnice was executed for heresy
Warrior Jan Žižka, 1360, Trocnov – 11/10/1424, Přibyslav

Indian rapper Jan "Rotvajler" Surmaj.

Jan Blahoslav, author, theologist and historian
Jan Burian, songwriter and folk singer
Jan Čenský, actor
Jan Drda, journalist and author
Jan Hrubý, rock and jazz musician
Jan Hřebejk, director
Jan Janský, serologist, neurologist and psychiatrist. He is credited with the first classification of blood into the four types (A, B, AB, O) of the ABO blood group system.
Jan "Sladký" Kozina, rebel and literary character
Jan Kraus, actor and moderator
Jan Libíček, actor
Jan Garrigue Masaryk, diplomatist and politician
Jan Nedvěd, folk singer
Jan Neruda, poet and journalist
Jan Antonín Pacák, artist and drummer
Jan Palach, national martyr
Jan Panenka, musician and pianist
Jan Patočka, philospher and founder of Charta 77
Jan Petránek, publicist
Jan Antonín Pitínský, poet and theatrical director
Jan Pivec, actor
Jan Polák, footballer
Jan Evangelista Purkyně, scientist
Jan Roháč z Dubé, hussite marshal
Ján Roháč, TV and film director
Jan Rokycana, Hussite priest
Jan Rosák, moderator and actor
Jan Ruml, politician and journalist
Jan Jakub Ryba, composer
Jan Blažej Santini, architekt
Jan Sokol, professor and publicist
Jan Skácel, poet
Jan Svěrák, film director
Jan Špáta, film director
Jan Švejnar, economist
Jan Tříska, actor
Jan Křtitel Vaňhal, composer
Jan Veselý, bicyclist
Jan Vodňanský, author, poet and songwriter
Jan Werich, actor and author
Jan Zábrana, poet and author
Jan Dismas Zelenka, composer
Jan Zrzavý, painter and graphic designer
Jan Železný, athlet
Jan Želivský, Hussite priest

Architect Jan Kaplický (KAHP-lit-skee), 18th April 1937, Prague – 14th February 2009, Prague.

Czech photographers Samuel Saudek and Šárka Směšná have a son Jan.

We also have this name in Croatia.

Jan is a popular boys name in Croatia, particularly since the 90s.

Jan Henryk Dąbrowski was a general of the Polish Army, and is a national hero of Poland. The Polish national anthem, Mazurek Dąbrowskiego ("Dąbrowski's Mazurka") is even named after him.

Jan Asselyn (1615-1652) was a Dutch painter of French descent. Famous for 'The Threatened Swan'.

Jan de Baen (1633-1702) was a Dutch painter.

Johannes (Jan) Symonsz van der Beeck (1589, Amsterdam - buried 17 February 1644, Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter.

Jan de Beer [Netherlandish Painter, ca.1475-1528]

Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraten (1622-1666) was a Dutch painter.

Jan Borman II (1479-1520) was a Netherlandish sculptor, mainly in wood.

Jan Borman III continued his father's tradition.

Jan Dirksz Both (1618-1652) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher.

Jan de Bray (1627-1697) was a Dutch painter of portraits.

Jan Gerritsz van Bronckhorst (1603–1661) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.

Jan Breughel (1568-1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He had two sons: Jan and Ambrosius.

Jan Hermansz van Bijlert (1597 or 1598 – November 1671) was a Dutch portrait painter in the style of Caravaggio.

Jan van de Cappelle (1626-1679) was a Dutch marine landscape painter.

This name is basically the Dutch version of John. It used to be extremely common and it´s seen as very boring and old-fashioned. I've never met anyone my age (early twenties) with this name but I do have half a dozen older relatives who were named Jan, including my grandfather. I was surprised to find that it is still in the top thirty in the Netherlands but now that I think about it, I kind of like the thought of it still being in use. It's a lot better than all those new wanna-be American names.

Jan is also a Catalan male name, a diminutive of Joan, the Catalan form of John.