Joan (female name: /dʒoʊn/; male name: [(d)ʒuˈan]) is both a feminine form of the personal name
John given to females in the Anglosphere; and the native masculine form of John (for males) in the
Catalan-
Valencian and
Occitan languages. In both cases, the name is derived from the
Greek via the
LatinIoannes and Ioanna (or Johannes and Johanna), and is thus cognate with
John and related to its many forms, including its derived feminine forms.
The name was disseminated widely into many languages and cultures from the
Greek name Ἰωάννης (romanised, Iōannēs), along with its feminine form Ἰωάννα (romanised, Iōanna).[1]: 144 [2] Its ultimate origin, as with John, is from the
HebrewYohanan (יוֹחָנָן),[a] "
Graced by
Yah", or Yehohanan (יְהוֹחָנָן), "
Yahweh is Gracious".[3]
In Catalan-Valencian and Occitan, Joan (pronounced[(d)ʒuˈan]) has been in continuous use as the native, masculine form of John since at least the Middle Ages.[4] Its feminine counterpart in these languages is Joana. Historically, Joan and Joam were also the main forms of John in
medieval Portuguese (or
Galician-Portuguese). The
Lusophone world later diverged in adopting João([ʒuˈɐ̃w]) as its native form of the masculine John, while Joana, as in Catalan and Occitan, remains the female form for Portuguese speakers.[b][4]
List of figures named Joan
Below are lists of people and fictional characters named or known as Joan. They are divided by gender and time period and within each list are presented alphabetically, by surname or title. Where the same name or title applies to more than one entry, each of the sub-entries for the group is listed in order of birth year.
Women
Medieval and early modern periods
The following is a list of notable women known as Joan who lived in the
Middle Ages (from around the 5th to the late 15th centuries) or in the
early modern (late 15th century –
c. 1800) period:
Joan of Arc (
c. 1412 – 1431), patron saint of France, saint and martyr in Anglicanism and Catholicism
Joan of Acre, Countess of Gloucester (1272–1307) daughter of Edward I of England
Joan of the Tower (1321–1362), first Queen consort of David II of Scotland
Joan of Kent (1328–1385), Princess of Wales, "the fair maid of Kent", wife of Edward the Black Prince and mother of King Richard II of England
Joan of England (
c. 1333 – 1348), daughter of Edward III; betrothed to
Peter of Castile, but died aged 14 of the
Black Death while en route to Castile for her marriage
^
abBrown, A.; Grim, G.; Le Get, R.; Shiel, N.; Slíz, M.; Uckelman, J.; Uckelman, S.L. (2021). "John". In Uckelman, S.L. (ed.). The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources. dmnes.org.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Joan (female name: /dʒoʊn/; male name: [(d)ʒuˈan]) is both a feminine form of the personal name
John given to females in the Anglosphere; and the native masculine form of John (for males) in the
Catalan-
Valencian and
Occitan languages. In both cases, the name is derived from the
Greek via the
LatinIoannes and Ioanna (or Johannes and Johanna), and is thus cognate with
John and related to its many forms, including its derived feminine forms.
The name was disseminated widely into many languages and cultures from the
Greek name Ἰωάννης (romanised, Iōannēs), along with its feminine form Ἰωάννα (romanised, Iōanna).[1]: 144 [2] Its ultimate origin, as with John, is from the
HebrewYohanan (יוֹחָנָן),[a] "
Graced by
Yah", or Yehohanan (יְהוֹחָנָן), "
Yahweh is Gracious".[3]
In Catalan-Valencian and Occitan, Joan (pronounced[(d)ʒuˈan]) has been in continuous use as the native, masculine form of John since at least the Middle Ages.[4] Its feminine counterpart in these languages is Joana. Historically, Joan and Joam were also the main forms of John in
medieval Portuguese (or
Galician-Portuguese). The
Lusophone world later diverged in adopting João([ʒuˈɐ̃w]) as its native form of the masculine John, while Joana, as in Catalan and Occitan, remains the female form for Portuguese speakers.[b][4]
List of figures named Joan
Below are lists of people and fictional characters named or known as Joan. They are divided by gender and time period and within each list are presented alphabetically, by surname or title. Where the same name or title applies to more than one entry, each of the sub-entries for the group is listed in order of birth year.
Women
Medieval and early modern periods
The following is a list of notable women known as Joan who lived in the
Middle Ages (from around the 5th to the late 15th centuries) or in the
early modern (late 15th century –
c. 1800) period:
Joan of Arc (
c. 1412 – 1431), patron saint of France, saint and martyr in Anglicanism and Catholicism
Joan of Acre, Countess of Gloucester (1272–1307) daughter of Edward I of England
Joan of the Tower (1321–1362), first Queen consort of David II of Scotland
Joan of Kent (1328–1385), Princess of Wales, "the fair maid of Kent", wife of Edward the Black Prince and mother of King Richard II of England
Joan of England (
c. 1333 – 1348), daughter of Edward III; betrothed to
Peter of Castile, but died aged 14 of the
Black Death while en route to Castile for her marriage
^
abBrown, A.; Grim, G.; Le Get, R.; Shiel, N.; Slíz, M.; Uckelman, J.; Uckelman, S.L. (2021). "John". In Uckelman, S.L. (ed.). The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources. dmnes.org.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.