Jane is a feminine given name. It is the English form of Jehanne , the Old French feminine form of Iohannes, a Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan), a short form of the name יְהוֹחָנָן (Yehochanan), meaning "Yahweh is merciful".[ 1]
The name was first used in large numbers in the mid-16th century for the daughters of aristocrats as an alternative to the more commonplace Joan . The two names have alternated in popularity. In the early 19th century, Jane rose in popular use in association with its perceived glamour. Joan became more popular in the early to mid-20th century, when it was ranked in the top 500 most popular names given to girls in the United States, but it has again been displaced by Jane on the popularity charts in the 21st century.
Name variants Alternate forms include:
Asia (Polish , Italian ) Dyeinne (Portuguese ) Gianna (Italian ) Gianetta (Italian ) Giannetta (Italian ) Giannina (Italian ) Giovanna (Italian ) Hana (Czech ) Johanna, Janka (Hungarian ) Hanne (German ) Hannele (Finnish ) Hannie (Dutch ) Hansine (German ) Hansje, Hanna, Hannie (Dutch ) Ioana (Romanian ) Ioanna (Greek , Russian ) Ionna (Greek ) Ionela (Romanian ) Iva (Slavic , Portuguese ) Ivana (Czech , Croatian ) Ivanna (Russian , Slavic ) Ivanka (Czech , Slavic ) Jaana (Finnish ) Jaapje (Dutch ) Jana (Czech , Latvian , Polish , Slovak , Albanian) Jane, Janet, Janisa, Jeanne, Jein, Jeiny, Jen, Jenny, Joan, Juanita, Yoanna, Yohana,(Indonesian ) Janae (Modern American , English ) Janeczka (Polish ) Jane (Estonian ) Jane (Circassian : Жьанэ and Джэнэ) Jane (Macedonian : Јане) Janelle (American English ) Janes (Danish , Dutch , Finnish , Swedish ) Janet (English , Scots ) Janete (Portuguese ) Janice (English , Portuguese ) Janica (Czech ) Janina (Polish , Lithuanian ) Janine (French , English , Portuguese ) Janka (Czech , Hungarian ) Janna (Dutch , English , Swedish ) Janne (Norwegian ) Janneke (Dutch ) Janneth (Scots ) Jannetje (Dutch ) Jannie (Dutch ) Jannike (Scandinavian ) Janotje (Dutch ) Jans (Hebrew ) Jansje (Dutch ) Jante (Dutch ) Jantina (Dutch ) Jantine (Dutch ) Jantje (Dutch ) Januszy (Slavic ) Jasia (Polish ) Jayna (English ) Jayne (English ) Jean (English , Scots ) Jeanette (French ) Jeanna (English ) Jeanne (French ) Jeannie (English , Scots ) Jehanne (French ) Jenica (Romanian ) Jenka (Czech ) Jenne (Dutch ) Jennet (Scots ) Jenni (English ) Jennie (English ) Jenny (English ) Jenjira (Thailand ) Jensine (Danish , Norwegian ) Jinn (Manx ) Jinty (Scots ) Joan (English , Manx ) Joana (Basque , Catalan , Portuguese ) Joanka (Polish ) Joanna (English , Polish ) Joanne (English ) Joannia (Manx ) Joasia (Polish ) Johana (Dutch ) Johanka (Czech ) Johanna (Czech , Danish , Dutch , German , Norwegian , Swedish , Hungarian ) Jóhanna (Icelandic ) Johanne (Danish , Norwegian ) Johanneke (Dutch ) Johna (English ) Johnet (Manx ) Johnna (English ) Johnnie (English ) Joan (English ) Joina (Danish ) Jóna (Icelandic ) Jone (Basque ) Jonee (Manx ) Joney (Manx ) Jonie (English ) Jovana (Serbian : Јована Jovanka (Serbian : Јованка Juana (Spanish ) Juanita (Spanish ) Jutta (German ) Kini (Hawaiian ) Nana (Greek : Νανα Oana (Romanian ) Ohanna (Armenian ) Seanna (English ) Seini (Tongan ) Seona (Scots ) Seonag (Scottish Gaelic ) Seónaid (Scottish Gaelic ) Shana (English ) Shauna (English ) Shavonne (English ) Shawn (Irish ) Shawna (English ) Sheena (Scots ) Shena (Irish ) Shona (Scots ) Siân (Welsh ) Siâni (Welsh ) Sian (Irish Language) Sina (Irish Gaelic ) Sinéidin (Irish ) Síne (Irish Gaelic ) Sinéad (Irish Gaelic ) Síneag (Scottish ) Siobhán (Irish Gaelic ) Sion (Welsh ) Sioned (Welsh ) Siubhan (Scottish Gaelic ) Vanda (Portuguese ) Vanja (Scandinavian , Slovenian ) Vanna (Italian ) Xana (Galician ) Xoana (Galician ) Yana (Bulgarian , Яна), (Russian ), (Slavic ) Yanick (Breton , French ) Yanna (Greek ) Yannic (Breton , French ) Yannick (Breton , French ) Yoana (Bulgarian , Йоана) Yochanna (Hebrew ) Zaneta (Russian ) Žaneta (Lithuanian ) Žanna (Latvian ) Zhanna (Russian ) Zhannochka (Russian : Жанночка Zsanett (Hungarian )
People with this name
Arts Jhane Barnes (born 1954), fashion designer ("h" added as adult)Jane Burden (1839–1914), pre-Raphaelite model and museJane Antonia Cornish (born 1975), British Contemporary classical music composerJane Petrie , Scottish costume designerJane Dyer (born 1949), children's book illustratorJane Frank (1918–1986), American artistJane Gilmor (born 1947), American intermedia artist and educatorJane Grier (1856–1902), Irish-German textile artistJane Kelly (born 1956), artist and journalistJane Sauer (born 1937), American fiber artist, sculptorJane Tuckerman (born 1947), American photographerJane Venis , New Zealand multimedia artist, musician and writer
Crime Jane Andrews (born 1967), murderer of Tom CressmanJane Britton (1945–1969), female murder victimJane Cakebread (1830–1898), infamous drunkard; the Inebriates Act 1898 was directly due to her caseJane Toppan (1854–1938), American serial killer, nicknamed "Jolly Jane"
Entertainment Jane Alexander (born 1939), American actress and authorJane Asher (born 1946), English actress and authorJane Avril (1868–1943), French dancerJane Badler (born 1953), American–Australian actress and singerJane Barbe (1928–2003), American voice artist and singerJane Bathori (1877–1970), French opera singerJane Baxter (1909–1996), German–born English actressJane Birkin (1946–2023), English–French actress and singerJane Bryan (1918–2009), American actressJane Campion (born 1954), New Zealand filmmakerJane Curtin (born 1947), American actress and comedianJane Darwell (1879–1967), American actressJane De Leon (born 1998), Filipina actressJane de Wet (born 1996), South African actressJane Espenson (born 1964), American producer and screenwriterJane Fonda (born 1937), American actress and fitness instructor, daughter of Henry Fonda Jane Froman (1907–1980), American actress and singerJane Goldman (born 1970), English author, producer, and screenwriter, wife of Jonathan Ross Jane Greer (1924–2001), American actressJane Horrocks (born 1964), English actressJane Huang (born 1983), Taiwanese singerJane Kaczmarek (born 1955), American actressJane Kean (1923–2013), American actress and singerJane Krakowski (born 1968), American actressJane Lapotaire (born 1944), English actressJane Lawrence (1915–2005), American actress and opera singerJane Leeves (born 1961), English actressJane Levy (born 1989), American actressJane Lowry (1937–2019), American actressJane Lynch (born 1960), American actress, comedian, and singerJane March (born 1973), English actressJane McDonald (born 1963), English singer and television presenterJane McGregor (born 1983), Canadian actressJane Monheit (born 1977), American singerJane Morgan (1924–2025), American actress and singerJane Novak (1896–1990), American actressJane Oineza (born 1996), Filipina actress, model and singerJane Paknia (born 2000), American musicianJane Peyton (1870–1946), American actressJane Pickens (1907–1992), American singerJane Powell (1929–2021), American actress, dancer, and singerJane Randolph (1914–2009), American actressJane Remover (born 2003), American musicianJane Rosenthal (born 1956), American film producerJane Russell (1921–2011), American actressJane Seymour (born 1951), English actressJane Sibbett (born 1962), American actressJane Siberry (born 1955), Canadian singer and songwriterJane Sourza (1902–1969), French actressJane Tilden (1910–2002), Austrian actressJane Turner (born 1960), Australian actress, comedian, and screenwriterJane Wagner (born 1935), American director, producer, and writerJane Weaver (born 1972), English musician, singer, and songwriterJane Wiedlin (born 1958), American musician and singer, member of The Go-Go's Jane Winton (1905–1959), American actress, dancer, painter, writer, and operatic sopranoJane Withers (1926–2021), American actress and radio show hostJane Wolfe (1875–1958), American actressJane Wyatt (1910–2006), American actressJane Wyman (1917–2007), American actress, ex-wife of the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan Jane Zhang (born 1984), Chinese singer and songwriter
History Calamity Jane (1852–1903), U.S. frontierswomanJane Addams (1860–1935), American Nobel Peace Prize-winning social worker and co-founder of Hull HouseJane Kelley Adams (1852–1924), American educatorJane Grace Alexander (1848–1932), American bankerJane Digby (1807–1881), English adventurerJane Franklin (née Griffin; 1791–1875), English explorerJane Gemmill (1855-?), Scottish temperance activistJane Louisa Hardy (1828–1915), American temperance activist and philanthropistJane Horney (1918–1945), Swedish spy during WWIIJane Roe , alias of Norma McCorvey (1947–2017), plaintiff in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United StatesJane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), early Native American writer
Literature Jane Austen (1775–1817), British novelist, known for Emma and Pride and Prejudice Jane Baird (1875 –1960), Scottish educator and EsperantistJane Bowles (1917–1973), American writer and playwrightJane T. H. Cross (1817–1870), American authorJane Louise Curry (born 1932), American writerJane Gardam (1928–2025), English writerJane Lewers Gray (1796–1871), Northern Ireland-born American poet and hymnwriterJane Eaton Hamilton (born 1954), Canadian authorJane Hamilton (born 1957), American authorJane Hampton Cook , American author and historianJane Harvey (writer) (1771–1848) British poet and novelistJane Jacobs (1916–2006), American-Canadian journalist, author, and urban theoristJane Lindskold (born 1962), American authorJane Roberts (1929–1984), American author, poet, psychic, and spirit mediumJane Rose (1880–1927), Yiddish dramatist and theater activistJane Smiley (born 1949), American novelistJane Agnes Stewart (1860–1944), American author, editor, and contributor to periodicalsJane Suiter , Irish journalist and academicJane Taylor (1783–1824), English poet and novelistJane Urquhart (born 1949), Canadian novelist and poetJane Wilde (1821–1896), Irish poet under the pen name SperanzaJane Wilde Hawking (born 1944), ex-wife of Stephen HawkingJane T. Worthington (1821–1847), American essayist, poetJane Yolen (1939–2026), American author
Jane Elliott (born 1933), American civil rights activist, known for "Blue eyes–Brown eyes" exercise.Jane Grant (1892–1972) American journalistJane Hill (born 1969), British newsreaderJane Kramer (born 1938), American journalistJane Pauley (born 1950), American television journalistJane Pratt (born 1962), American magazine editor and publisher
Politics Jane Ellison , British politicianJane Harman (born 1945), member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California's 36th congressional districtJane Irwin Harrison (1804–1845), first lady of the United StatesJane Hill (1936–2015), Australian politicianJane Hunt (American politician) Jane Hunt (British politician) Jane Kagiri , Kenyan politicianJenny (Jane) Kenney (1884–1961) also known as Jennie, British suffragette and Montessori teacherJane Njoki Mugambi (born 1967) in Gituamba Village, Central Province, KenyaJane Muskie (1927–2004), First Lady of MaineJane Perceval (1769–1844), spouse of the Prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1808 to 1812Jane Pierce (1806–1863), first lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857Jane Pringle , American politicianFlorence Jane Short (aka Rachel Peace) (1881 – died after 1932), British feminist and suffragette Jane Swift (born 1965), American politician, acting governor of Massachusetts from 2001 to 2003Jane Lomax-Smith (born 1950), Australian politicianJane Valbot (1884–1961), French pacifist and suffragist
Royalty and nobility Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1505–1542)Lady Jane Fellowes (born 1957)Lady Jane Grey (1537–1554), Queen of England, also known as "Jane of England"Jane Ingleby (died 1651), English aristocrat, recusant, and female soldierJane Lane, Lady Fisher (1626–1689), played a heroic role in the escape of Charles II in 1651Jane Loeau (1828–1873), Hawaiian noble ladyJane Seymour (1508–1537), Queen and wife of King Henry VIII of EnglandJane Spencer, Baroness Churchill (1826–1900)Baroness Jane von Westenholz (born 1954), Queen's Companion to Queen Camilla Jane Wharton, 7th Baroness Wharton (1706–1761)
Science Jane Ammons (born 1953), American industrial engineerJane Colden (1724–1766), American botanistJane Frankland (born 1968), English cybersecurity expertJane Forer Gentleman (1940–2023), American and Canadian statisticianJane Goodall (1934–2025), English primatologist, known for studying chimpanzees and founder of the Jane Goodall InstituteJane Lord Hersom (1840–1928), American physician, suffragistJane Hutton , British statisticianJane Loevinger (1918–2008), American developmental psychologistJane Luu (born 1963), Vietnamese-American astronomer and defense systems engineerJane Madders (c. 1909–1990), British physiotherapist, educator and authorJane McGrath (1966–2008), co-founder of the McGrath FoundationJane H. Rider (1889–1981), American engineer and bacteriologistJane M. Simoni , American clinical psychologist
Sport Jane Albright (born 1955), American basketball player and coachJane Barkman (born 1951), American swimmerJane Bartkowicz (born 1949), American tennis playerJane Burley (born 1971), Scottish field hockey midfielderJane Cederqvist (1945–2023), Swedish swimmerJane Daley (ice hockey) (born 2009), American ice hockey playerJane Frederick (born 1952), American heptathleteJane Karla Gögel (born 1975), Brazilian para archer and para table tennis playerJane Haist (1949–2022), Canadian discus thrower and shot putterJane Joseph , Trinidadian cricketerJane Katz (born 1943), American swimmerJane Kuehl (born 2003), American ice hockey playerJane Patterson , Canadian judokaJane Salumäe (born 1968), Estonian long-distance runnerJayne Torvill (born 1957), British ice-dancer and 1984 Olympic gold medalist with partner Christopher DeanJane Weiller (1912–1989), American golfer
Fictional characters
In law Jane Doe or Jane Roe is used in American law as a placeholder name for anonymous or unknown female participants in legal proceedings
Jane Doe is used in United States police investigations when the identity of a female victim is unknown or incorrect, and by hospitals to refer to a female corpse or patient whose identity is unknown.
Characters in literature Jane , an AI character first introduced in Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead Dick and Jane , characters by Zerna SharpJane , an entity resembling modern conceptions of AI, from the Ender's Game seriesJane Eyre , the titular character of a famous novel by Charlotte Brontë and several film adaptationsBaby Jane Hudson , the titular character in the novel and film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Miss Marple (first name Jane), an amateur detective created by Agatha ChristieJane Porter , the sweetheart of TarzanJayne Deverill , a Yorkshire witch in the Power of Five series by Anthony HorowitzJane Studdock , protagonist in That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
Jane , on 7th Heaven Jane Beale (previously Collins), from the BBC soap opera EastEnders Jayne Cobb , a male character on the sci-fi series Firefly G.I. Jane Jane Hopper , also known as Eleven, a main character in the Netflix series Stranger Things Jane Lane , on the television show Daria Jane Mancini , on Melrose Place and the 2009 remakeJane Read , character in the Arthur book and television seriesJane Vaughn , in Degrassi: The Next Generation Jane Gloriana Villanueva , main character of television series Jane the Virgin 