Jana
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Czech. 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. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role. Doublet of Ivana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Jana (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Jana has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2018. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2005 | 4 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2007 | 10 |
| 2008 | 5 |
| 2009 | 11 |
| 2010 | 16 |
| 2011 | 11 |
| 2012 | 6 |
| 2013 | 17 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 19 |
| 2016 | 29 |
| 2017 | 35 |
| 2018 | 38 |
| 2019 | 32 |
| 2020 | 32 |
| 2021 | 19 |
| 2022 | 22 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 496 |
| 2000 | 508 |
| 2001 | 514 |
| 2002 | 528 |
| 2003 | 542 |
| 2004 | 553 |
| 2005 | 574 |
| 2006 | 592 |
| 2007 | 618 |
| 2008 | 648 |
| 2009 | 672 |
| 2010 | 705 |
| 2011 | 728 |
| 2012 | 753 |
| 2013 | 798 |
| 2014 | 865 |
| 2015 | 963 |
| 2016 | 1,109 |
| 2017 | 1,230 |
| 2018 | 1,325 |
| 2019 | 1,379 |
| 2020 | 1,430 |
Jana in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Jana.Hi! My name is Jana.
- Jana ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Jana called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jana har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Jana has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Janas mamma är lärare.Jana's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Janas mamma is Jana's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Jana
How do you pronounce Jana in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Jana in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Jana mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Czech. 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. As a placeholder name, cf. similar use of John and Jack and earlier use of Joan in the same role. Doublet of Ivana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
How popular is Jana in Sweden?
22 babies were named Jana in 2022. In 2020, 1,430 people in Sweden had Jana as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2018 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.