(male) English form of Latin Io(h)annes, New Testament Greek Iōannēs, a contracted form of the Hebrew name Johanan ‘God is gracious’ (the name of several different characters in the Old Testament, including one of King David's ‘mighty men’). John is the spelling used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament. The name is of great importance in early Christianity: it was borne by John the Baptist (the precursor of Christ himself, who baptized sinners in the River Jordan), by one of Christ's disciples (John the Apostle, a fisherman, brother of James), and by the author of the fourth gospel (John the Evangelist, identified in Christian tradition with the apostle, but more probably a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian living over half a century later). The name was also borne by many saints and by twenty-three popes, including John XXIII (Giuseppe Roncalli, 1881–1963), whose popularity was yet another factor influencing people to choose this given name. It was also a royal name, being borne by eight Byzantine emperors and by kings of Hungary, Poland, Portugal, France, and elsewhere. Among numerous bearers of note in recent times have been American president John F. Kennedy (1917–63) and British pop singer John Lennon (1940–80). In its various forms in different languages, it has been the most perennially popular of all Christian names.
Cognates: Irish: Eoin, Seán. Scottish: Ian, Iain, Eòin, Seathan. Welsh: Ieuan, Sión. German: Johann, Johannes. Dutch: Jan. Danish, Norwegian: Jens, Johan, Jan. Swedish: Johan, Jöns, Jon, Jan. French: Jean. Spanish: Juan. Catalan: Joan. Portuguese: João. Italian: Giovanni, Gianni. Greek: Ioannis, Iannis. Russian: Ivan. Polish: Jan. Czech: Jan. Finnish: Juhani, Jussi, Hannu. Hungarian: János. Latvian: Janis, Jānis.
Pet forms: Johnny, Johnnie, Jack, Hank.
English: from a short form of Andrew.
English (Norman): from the Germanic personal name Drogo, which is of uncertain origin; it is possibly akin to Old Saxon (gi)drog ‘ghost’, ‘phantom’, or with a stem meaning ‘to bear’, ‘to carry’ (Old High German tragan). Whatever its origin, the name was borne by one of the sons of Charlemagne, and was subsequently popular throughout France in the forms Dreus, Drues (oblique case Dreu, Dr(i)u), whence it was introduced to England by the Normans. Drogo de Monte Acuto (as his name appears in its Latinized form) was a companion of William the Conqueror and founder of the Montagu family, among whom the personal name Drogo was revived in the 19th century.
English (of Norman origin): nickname from Middle English dreue, dru, Old French dru, ‘favorite’, ‘lover’ (originally an adjective, apparently from a Gaulish word meaning ‘strong’, ‘vigorous’, ‘lively’, but influenced by the sense of the Old High German element trūt, drūt ‘dear’, ‘beloved’).
English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in France called Dreux, from the Gaulish tribal name Durocasses.
English (of Norman origin): habitational name, with the preposition de, from any of the numerous places in France named from Old French rieux ‘streams’.
Irish: when not an adoption of the English surname, a reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Druaidh or Ó Druaidh or Ó Draoi ‘son’ and ‘descendant of the druid’, from draoi ‘druid’, genitive druadh or draoi.
