Joan

See also joan

English

Etymology

From Latin Johanna.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dʒəʊn/
• (US) IPA: /dʒoʊn/

Proper noun

Joan

1. A female given name, a feminine form of John.
   • ~1595 William Shakespeare: King John: Act I, Scene I:

     Well, now I can make any Joan a lady.

   • 1979 Margaret Atwood: Lady Oracle, p.336:

     Maybe my mother didn't name me after Joan Crawford after all, I thought; she just told me that to cover up. She named me after Joan of Arc, didn't she know what happened to women like that?

Usage notes

Joan was the usual feminine form of John in the Middle Ages. It was superseded by Jane in the 17th century, but was again very popular during the first half of the 20th century.

Translations

female given name — see Jane

Anagrams

• ajon

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin Iohannes, from Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs), from Hebrew יוחנן (Yôḥānān) "Yahweh is gracious".

Pronunciation

• (Eastern) IPA: /ʒuˈan/, X-SAMPA: /Zu"an/
• (Western) IPA: /dʒuˈan/, /dʒoˈan/, X-SAMPA: /dZu"an/, /dZo"an/

Proper noun

Joan m

1. A male given name, cognate to English John

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Danish

Proper noun

Joan

1. A female given name borrowed from English, popular in the 1950s and the 1960s

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Manx

Proper noun

Joan f

1. A female given name

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Occitan

Proper noun

Joan

1. A male given name, cognate to John in English