Ian- John- Sean

[Nick the DSM]

Ok, so I know Sean and Ian are the Irish and Scottish versions of John. Sean is easily seen why, but Ian I can't figure out how it has derived from John.

[sharpdressedscot]

Could it be derived from Johan/Ioannes?

[Jack Daw]

Don't forget Ivan and Yban.

[Chas]

"Spelling is an Adventure - not a Science!"

It wasn't till 1910 that it became law that every school in the UK had to have a dictionary. But still, many proper nouns are not included and certainly not given (or first) names. Consider -

Mac - Mc - M’ - Mc

They are all the same thing. Add in a thick accent and maybe a head-cold and it is a wonder there was any communication at all!

The perfect example of this is Sean Bean. Why isn't he pronounced Seen Been or Shawn Bawn?

Regards

Chas

[figheadair]

Ok, so I know Sean and Ian are the Irish and Scottish versions of John. Sean is easily seen why, but Ian I can't figure out how it has derived from John.

The Scottish (Gaelic) version is actually Iain which seems to have been used historically as an alternative spelling to Eoin which are Anglicised as 'Ian' and 'Euan' or 'Ewan' repectively.

Found this on-line regarding the name John:

English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious". This name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first was John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who was considered the forerunner of Jesus Christ. The second was the apostle John, who was also traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth Gospel and Revelation.

Greek form of Yochanan (see JOHN).

VARIANTS: Ioannis, Yannis, Yiannis, Yanni, Yianni (Greek)

FEMININE FORMS: Ioanna (Greek), Ioanna (Biblical Greek)

OTHER LANGUAGES: Gjon (Albanian), Yahya (Arabic), Hovhannes (Armenian), Jon, Ion, Ganix (Basque), John (Biblical), Yehochanan, Yochanan (Biblical Hebrew), Iohannes (Biblical Latin), Yann (Breton), Ioan, Yoan, Yan, Ivan (Bulgarian), Joan (Catalan), Jowan (Cornish), Ghjuvan (Corsican), Ivan (Croatian), Johan, Jan, Ivan (Czech), Jens (Danish), Johannes, Johan, Jan (Dutch), John, Shawn, Shaun, Shane, Sean, Evan, Ian, Ivan, Shayne, Jon (English), Johano (Esperanto), Juhan, Johannes, Jaan (Estonian), Juhani, Juhana, Jouni, Joni, Johannes, Janne, Jani (Finnish), Yann, Jean (French), Xoán (Galician), Johannes, Johann, Johan, Jan (German), Keoni (Hawaiian), Yochanan (Hebrew), János (Hungarian), Jón, Jóhannes, Jóhann (Icelandic), Shane, Sean, Seán, Eoin (Irish), Giovanni (Italian), Johannes, Joannes (Late Roman), Jānis (Latvian), Sjeng, Sjang (Limburgish), Jonas (Lithuanian), Jovan, Ivan (Macedonian), Juan, Ean (Manx), Jan, Hann (Medieval English), Jehan (Medieval French), Jens (Norwegian), Janusz, Jan, Iwan (Polish), João (Portuguese), Ion, Ioan (Romanian), Ivan, Ioann (Russian), Jon, Johannes, Johan, Jan (Scandinavian), Ian, Iain, Eoin (Scottish), Jovan, Ivan (Serbian), Ján (Slovak), Žan, Janez, Jan, Ivan, Anže (Slovene), Xuan, Juan, Iván (Spanish), Jens (Swedish), Yahya (Turkish), Ivan (Ukrainian), Siôn, Iwan, Ioan, Ifan, Iefan, Evan, Ieuan (Welsh)

By 'Irish' the author is of course referring to Gaelic.

[James Hood]

Excellent thread!

Linguistics and origins are so much fun...and entertainment...and education.

[Nick the DSM]

Well, that makes sense now. Thanks!

[Father Bill]

I had a friend named "Ninian" who claimed that meant the ninth son of John. Another friend pronounced his name "Ian" as "Eye-un." Ninian said that it meant the eight son of John. John must have been a busy fellow!

[figheadair]

I had a friend named "Ninian" who claimed that meant the ninth son of John. Another friend pronounced his name "Ian" as "Eye-un." Ninian said that it meant the eight son of John. John must have been a busy fellow!

Me thinks your friend had been on the happy juice

[Father Bill]

Me thinks your friend had been on the happy juice

We thought that at the time, but it was interesting!