John

Alternative forms

• (male given name): Jon
• (Gospel of St John): Joh. (abbreviation)
• (Epistles of John):
  • (First Epistle of John): 1 Joh. (abbreviation)
  • (Second Epistle of John): 2 Joh. (abbreviation)
  • (Third Epistle of John): 3 Joh. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Middle English Johannes, John, Johan, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Latin Iōhannēs (variant of Iōannēs), from New Testament Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן‎ (Yōḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן‎ (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dʒɒn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dʒɑn/
• Rhymes: -ɒn

Proper noun

John (plural Johns)

1. A male given name very popular since the Middle Ages.
   • 1852 D. H. Jacques, "A Chapter on Names", The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, Volume XL, August 1852, page 114:

     John is a most excellent name, and Smith is a surname which is worthy of respect and honor, but wo to the man on whom they are conjoined! For John Smith to aspire to senatorial dignities or to the laurel of a poet is simply ridiculous. Who is John Smith? He is lost in the multitude of John Smiths, and individual fame is impossible.

   • 1920, John Collings Squire, "Initials", Life and Letters: Essays, Hodder & Stoughton, pages 233-235:

     The name I refer to is John. It has been borne by many illustrious men and an innumerable multitude of the obscure. - - - It is as fixed as the English landscape and the procession of seasons. It never becomes wearisome or tarnished. Nothing affects it; nothing can bring it into contempt; it stands like a rock amid the turbulent waves of human history, as fine and noble a thing now as it was when it first took shape on human lips. It is a name to live up to; but if one who bears it sinks into disrepute it falls not with him, but rather stays in the firmament above him, shining down upon him like a reproachful star.

2. (biblical) Either of two persons of great importance to early Christianity: John the Baptist and John the Apostle, identified with John the Evangelist.
   • 1611, Bible (King James Version), John 1:6:

     There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

3. (biblical) The Gospel of St. John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.
4. (biblical) One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).
5. A patronymic surname​.
6. (informal) Used frequently to form an idea personified John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).
7. (informal) A name used to address a man whose actual name is not known: John Doe.

Noun

John (plural Johns)

1. (US, slang, archaic) Alternative letter-case form of john: a toilet, lavatory, outhouse, or chamber pot.

Etymology

From English John, from Middle English Johannes, John, Johan, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, from Latin Iōhannēs (variant of Iōannēs), from New Testament Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן‎ (Yōḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן‎ (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).

Proper noun

John

1. a male given name

Etymology

A contraction of Johannes, later reinforced by the English John.

Proper noun

John c

1. A male given name.

References

• Danskernes Navne: 44 136 males with the given name John (compared to 3 492 named Jon) have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on March 20th, 2011.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɔnː/
• Rhymes: -ɔnː
• Homophone: Jonn

Proper noun

John m

1. A male given name.

Etymology

Medieval contraction of Johannes later reinforced by the English John. Used as a spelling variant of the more traditional Jon.

Proper noun

John

1. A male given name.

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 20 361 males with the given name John (compared to 16 263 named Jon) alive in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1920s. Accessed on March 29th 2011.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʒon/

Proper noun

John

1. A male given name, cognate to John.

See also

• Ian

Etymology

From English John. First recorded in Sweden in 1729. Used as a spelling variant of the traditional Swedish Jon.

Proper noun

John c (genitive Johns)

1. A male given name.

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• Statistiska centralbyrån: 66 757 males with the given name John (compared to 5 963 named Jon) alive in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1910s. Accessed on March 29th, 2011.