Jane

Meaning

Name

1. A female given name from French, the standard feminine form of John since the 17th century.
2. A surname originating as a patronymic derived from a Middle English variant of John.

Noun

1. (colloquial) used as a placeholder name for any woman, especially a young working-class woman
2. (slang) A girlfriend.
3. (alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of jane (“female client of a prostitute”).

Synonyms

Joan

Janet

Translations

Jeanne

Juana

Ιωάννα

Jana

Joana

Jane

Giovanna

Jane

Johanna

Johanna

Jana

Gianetta

جان

Pronounced as (IPA)

/d͡ʒeɪn/

Etymology

Variant of Jeanne, from French Jeanne, from Middle French Jehanne, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Latin Ioanna under influence from Latin Iōhannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role.
Doublet of Gianna, Ivana, Jana, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

Sentences

" Jane " was released as a single on Shifty Disco .