Girl's name
Jana
Say it YAH-nuh
Czech origin God is gracious
2 syllables
Where Jana is loved, common and rare
Common across Spain, Austria, Cologne and three more places. Rare in four other German cities, Canada, Israel and seven more places.
1 in 4,690 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
Catalonia 13thAustria 69thCologne 81st
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 22 of the 40 official lists, among them Catalonia (13th), Austria (69th) and Cologne (81st).
Show all 22 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalonia region | 13th 2025 | 210 | 1 in 92 |
| Austria | 69th 2025 | 114 | 1 in 313 |
| Cologne city | 81st 2023 | 16 | about 1 in 384 |
| Switzerland | 83rd 2025 | 86 | 1 in 395 |
| Spain | 87th 2024 | 293 | rank only |
| Slovenia | 90th 2025 | 20 | about 1 in 330 |
| Munich city | 111th 2025 | 11 | about 1 in 381 |
| Berlin city | 153rd 2023 | 21 | about 1 in 691 |
| Quebec province | 187th 2025 | 31 | about 1 in 839 |
| Israel ג'נא | 195th 2024 | 117 | about 1 in 671 |
| Poland | 203rd 2025 | 37 | 1 in 3,238 |
| France | 220th 2025 | 260 | 1 in 1,103 |
| Italy | 343rd 2024 | 43 | 1 in 4,167 |
| Sweden | 436th 2025 | 15 | about 1 in 2,678 |
| The Netherlands | 440th 2025 | 29 | about 1 in 2,104 |
| British Columbia province | 457th 2023 | 7 | about 1 in 1,708 |
| Ontario province | 564th 2024 | 22 | about 1 in 2,476 |
| England and Wales | 684th 2025 | 54 | 1 in 4,690 |
| Ireland | 718th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,282 |
| Rostock city | 62nd 2025 | 3 | about 1 in 328 |
| Bonn city | 119th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 603 |
| Leipzig city | 212th 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 1,312 |
Rare, below the listed names: Scotland, Northern Ireland, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Hungary.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Jana comes from Czech, and ultimately from Greek Iōánna and Hebrew Yôḥānāh, 'God is gracious'. It is the feminine counterpart of the name that produced John.
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It has two syllables, YAH-nuh, with the j said like a y. Jane, Joanna, Johanna and Jeanne are forms of the same name in other languages, and Janna and Janka are variants.
Jana ranks high in Catalonia and is used in Austria and Switzerland, and in the English-speaking world it appears in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario. The French records place its peak in 2019, and it is now falling in more places than it is rising.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- YAH-nuh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
God is gracious
- Origin
- Czech
- Other spellings
- Jane
- Ivana
- Jeanne
- Joanna
- Johanna
- Janka
- Janna
- Janice
- Jen
- Joanne
- Juana
- Sian
- Siobhan
- Shaun
- Shauna
- Sheena
- Janička
- Janinka
- Johana
Etymology
From Czech Jana, ultimately 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.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 21 regions, falling in 11.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 852 | 673 | 657 | 670 | 941 | 654 | 809 | 981 | 811 | 684 |
| Scotland | 502 | 666 | 583 | 560 | 625 | 476 | ||||
| Ireland | 515 | 734 | 716 | 444 | 764 | 634 | 625 | 898 | 718 | |
| Ontario | 431 | 221 | 250 | 361 | 334 | 372 | 343 | 267 | 564 | |
| British Columbia | 455 | 518 | 520 | 586 | 390 | 667 | 457 | |||
| Quebec | 214 | 172 | 161 | 173 | 213 | 230 | 176 | 210 | 182 | 187 |
| France | 229 | 150 | 138 | 126 | 130 | 166 | 164 | 217 | 244 | 220 |
| The Netherlands | 271 | 331 | 367 | 314 | 482 | 425 | 447 | 430 | 440 | |
| Austria | 34 | 38 | 41 | 38 | 39 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 52 | 69 |
| Switzerland | 31 | 56 | 41 | 38 | 50 | 46 | 44 | 50 | 64 | 83 |
| Berlin | 138 | 121 | 121 | 117 | 121 | 132 | 168 | 153 | ||
| Munich | 95 | 107 | 88 | 94 | 102 | 100 | 83 | 89 | 127 | 111 |
| Cologne | 60 | 69 | 76 | 68 | 82 | 122 | 94 | 81 | ||
| Bonn | 44 | 67 | 30 | 42 | 41 | 68 | 54 | 29 | 115 | 119 |
| Leipzig | 192 | 263 | 151 | 265 | 98 | 186 | 215 | 222 | 212 | |
| Rostock | 143 | 126 | 187 | 174 | 62 | |||||
| Norway | 309 | 257 | 309 | 347 | 406 | 436 | 400 | 478 | ||
| Sweden | 305 | 260 | 251 | 276 | 266 | 366 | 365 | 361 | 357 | 436 |
| Spain | 96 | 80 | 82 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 84 | 87 | |
| Catalonia | 22 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 |
| Italy | 318 | 277 | 287 | 284 | 290 | 344 | 343 | |||
| Poland | 192 | 200 | 162 | 165 | 184 | 179 | 194 | 216 | 223 | 203 |
| Slovenia | 102 | 100 | 96 | 76 | 95 | 109 | 122 | 107 | 121 | 90 |
| Israel | 57 | 73 | 93 | 97 | 124 | 134 | 145 | 183 | 195 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 684 | 54 | 21.3 |
| 2024 | 811 | 46 | 17.8 |
| 2023 | 981 | 35 | 13.6 |
| 2022 | 809 | 44 | 16.7 |
| 2021 | 654 | 59 | 21.5 |
| 2020 | 941 | 37 | 13.8 |
| 2019 | 670 | 58 | 20.7 |
| 2018 | 657 | 61 | 21.2 |
| 2017 | 673 | 61 | 20.4 |
| 2016 | 852 | 44 | 14.3 |
| 2015 | 794 | 48 | 15.6 |
| 2014 | 963 | 38 | 12.4 |
| 2013 | 944 | 39 | 12.6 |
| 2012 | 916 | 40 | 12.4 |
| 2011 | 915 | 39 | 12.1 |
| 2010 | 801 | 45 | 14.0 |
| 2009 | 771 | 46 | 14.7 |
| 2008 | 804 | 42 | 13.3 |
| 2007 | 882 | 35 | 11.4 |
| 2006 | 717 | 43 | 14.4 |
| 2005 | 1012 | 25 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 1106 | 21 | 7.3 |
| 2003 | 876 | 29 | 10.4 |
| 2002 | 1245 | 16 | 6.0 |
| 2001 | 1107 | 18 | 6.7 |
| 2000 | 1195 | 16 | 5.9 |
| 1999 | 816 | 27 | 9.6 |
| 1998 | 1823 | 9 | 3.1 |
| 1997 | 1365 | 13 | 4.4 |
| 1996 | 1222 | 15 | 5.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Jana in France since 1925 were born in or after 2018. First recorded in 1973. Her peak year there: 2019, at 143.3 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Jana per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2019 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Jana
1 in 1,195 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 581 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 2,556 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 3,166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 960 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 3,725 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 577 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 617 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Jana.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Jana.
Middle names for Jana
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Jana Grace
2-1 beats · initials JG
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Jana Olivia
2-4 beats · initials JO · Jana slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Jana slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Jana Sophia
2-3 beats · initials JS
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Jana Maria
2-3 beats · initials JM
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Jana Rose
2-1 beats · initials JR
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Jana Emily
2-3 beats · initials JE · Jana slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Jana slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Jana Miriam
2-3 beats · initials JM
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Jana Julia
2-3 beats · initials JJ
Changes the beat after Jana: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Jana
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 960 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 1,266 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 743 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 571 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
1 in 1,218 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Jana across countries and decades.
Famous people named Jana
Jana Novotná, Jana Burčeska, Jana Fett, Jana Pittman, Jana Brejchová, Jana Tichá, Jana Kramer and Jana Čepelová.
Show all 8Show less
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Czech tennis player (1968–2017)
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Macedonian singer born 1993
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Croatian female tennis player born 1996
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Australian hurdler and bobsledder born 1982
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Czech actress (1940–2026)
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Czech astronomer born 1965
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American singer and actress born 1983
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Slovak female tennis player born 1993
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Jana
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Jana?
Her best rank is No. 13 in Catalonia in 2025, about 1 in 92 girls. She is in the published lists of 22 of our 40 regions.
What does Jana mean?
Wiktionary glosses Jana as "God is gracious".
How do you pronounce Jana?
YAH-nuh, with 2 syllables.
Is Jana getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 21 regions, falling in 11.
Which sister names go with Jana?
The deck's top five sisters for Jana: Aya, Aisha, Gabriela, Amalia and Lia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.