Explore the Family Name Jan
The meaning of Jan
1. North German, Danish, Polish, Sorbian, and Croatian; Czech (also Ján); Slovak (Ján): from the personal name Jan (Slovak Ján), a shortened vernacular form of Latin Johannes (see John). The Sorbian surname is found mainly in Germanized forms, Jahn and Jähn. See also Yan. 2. Slovenian: from the personal name Jan, a variant or a short form of Janez, an equivalent of John. 3. Breton (rarely Le Jan): from a Frenchified form of the personal name Ian (modern spelling Yann), a Breton equivalent of John. 4. French: from a regional variant of the personal name Jean ‘John’. 5. Muslim (mainly Pakistan and India): from a personal name based on the Persian word ḡān ‘soul, life’. 6. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 冉, see Ran. 7. Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surnames 詹, 占, 湛, 展, 戰 and 粘, see Zhan 1–6. 8. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 甄, see Zhen. 9. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 鄭, see Zheng 1. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Mohammad, Mohammed, Ferdous, Momin, Sultan, Ahmad, Altaf, Ameen, Amin, Amina, Arif, Arshad. French Pierre, Andre, Marcel, Pascale.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Jan in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Jan" has seen an increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 14,995th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had risen to the rank of 14,564th, a change of 2.87 percent. The count of people with this surname also increased in that decade, going from 1,809 to 2,046, representing a 13.1 percent growth. This means that the proportion of individuals named Jan per 100,000 people rose by nearly three percent during this period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,995 | #14,564 | 2.87% |
| Count | 1,809 | 2,046 | 13.1% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.67 | 0.69 | 2.99% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Jan
In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census indicates that in both 2000 and 2010, the majority of those with the surname "Jan" identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, with this group's proportion increasing slightly from 65.28 percent to 66.37 percent. Those identifying as White remained steady at 24.05 percent in both years, while the percentage identifying as two or more races fell by over 27 percent. There were also small percentages who identified as Hispanic and Black, with these groups' proportions changing by 2.39 percent and -3.3 percent respectively. The data for American Indian and Alaskan Native was suppressed for privacy in 2000, though by 2010, a small proportion (0.24%) identified as such.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 65.28% | 66.37% | 1.67% |
| White | 24.05% | 24.05% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 7.13% | 5.18% | -27.35% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 2.39% | 0% |
| Black | 1.82% | 1.76% | -3.3% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.24% | 0% |