MEANING & HISTORY
What does Ivan mean?
Ivan belongs to the John family through Slavic forms of the Greek Ioannes. The older Hebrew name is Yohanan, whose elements conventionally express God is gracious.
The Slavic route explains why Ivan and John can be related despite looking different in modern English spelling. Ivan is a full traditional name, not simply a newly clipped version of the English word John. Its widespread use in several Slavic languages also means that a particular national spelling or historical ruler is not the sole source for every bearer elsewhere.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ˈʔajvan/Standard-Tagalog
- [ˈʔaɪ̯.vɐn̪]Standard-Tagalog
- /ˈʔajban/with nativization
- [ˈʔaɪ̯.bɐn̪]with nativization
I · van2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from English Ivan, from Russian Ива́н (Iván) and from Ivan in several Slavic languages. John, Evan, Giovanni, Ian, and Sean.
a male given name from English
EnglishEtymology & source
From Russian Ива́н (Iván), and from Ivan in several Slavic languages. Doublet of John and its relatives Evan, Giovanni, Ian, Johann, and Sean, etc.
A male given name from Russian of English speakers.
EnglishEtymology & source
Rare variant of Evan, from Welsh Ifan, the Welsh equivalent of John.
A male given name from Welsh of Welsh origin.
EnglishEtymology & source
Anglicization of Welsh Ifan, ultimately from Latin Jōhannēs, variant of Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥānān, yokhanán, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of Giovanni, Ian, Ivan, Jack, Jean, Johan, Johann, Johannes, John, Sean, Shane, Shaun, and Shawn.
A male given name from Welsh Ifan, equivalent to English John.; A female given name.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”). Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.
A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle Ages.; Used generically for a man whose actual name may not be known.; Used frequently to form an idea personified, as in John Bull, John Barleycorn (see derivations below).
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Ivan
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Ivan Mayrina
Filipino journalist
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
4
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Ivan Mayrina, Ivan Sembrano
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Ivan in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Ivan
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Evan♂Welsh John-family form: Yahweh is gracious
- Ivana♀God is gracious; feminine Ivan-family form
- Ivar♂Probably yew or bow and warrior
- Van♂Short form of names containing van
- Ivy♀Ivy plant, or a short form of Ivan
- Jovan·Serbian and Macedonian John-name form
- Ivory♂♀Ivory; English material and color word
- Stevan♂Serbian form of Stephen; crown or wreath
What rhymes with Ivan?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Ivan
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Ivan further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q830350 — Ivan (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Ivan Mayrina (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q830350 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Ivan Sembrano (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q830350 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ivan (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ivan (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ivan (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ivan (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Ivan (opens in a new tab)
Onomastic account consulted for this exact name or its explicitly linked name family.
- Behind the Name — John (opens in a new tab)
Yohanan gracious-divine compound behind Slavic Ioannes/Ivan family.