Find out how popular the first name Jean has been for the last 50 years (from 1974 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Jean by gender

Based on the last 50 years of data, Jean is more commonly used as a female name, with approximately 53% of people named Jean being female.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 152 male babies and 67 female babies born with the name Jean.

It's also interesting to see that despite Jean being historically a mostly female name, the most recent data from 2023 shows a shift in the trend, with more male babies being named Jean.

The history of the first name Jean

The name Jean has its origins in the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Graced by God" or "Yahweh is gracious". It emerged from the French form of the Latin name Johannes, which is derived from the Greek Ioannes. The name spread throughout Europe during the Christian era.

Jean is a common French name for both males and females. It was one of the most popular names in France during the Middle Ages. The name gained widespread use after John the Baptist and John the Apostle, two important figures in the New Testament of the Bible.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jean is found in the 12th century French epic poem "The Song of Roland", where it is used as a name for a character. In the 13th century, Jean de Meung was a famous French poet and scholar who co-authored the influential work "Roman de la Rose".

Jean Froissart (c. 1337-1405) was a renowned French chronicler and poet who documented the events of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Jean Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian and pastor, was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation and the development of Calvinism.

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Molière (1622-1673), was a highly influential French playwright and actor who is regarded as one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer, made significant contributions to the fields of political philosophy, education, and music.

Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) was a prominent figure in the French Revolution and a radical voice in the Jacobin group. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) was a French naturalist who proposed one of the first theories of evolution, known as Lamarckism.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Jean was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jean, please contact us.

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