Do you need a cool nickname to call a guy named John? In this article, we share a huge list of fantastic nicknames for John. But first, what is the origin of the name, John?
John is pronounced “Jahn.” The name John dates back to Bible times. The origin of the name is from the Hebrew sentence Yehohanan, which means Yahweh is gracious. A short form of the name is Yehanan. The Greek derivative “Ioannes” came from the Hebrew origin. The name then became “Joannes” in the Ecclesiastic Late Latin. Finally, the familiar “John” was derived.
Table of Contents
Famous People Named John
The name John is not a favorite with the British Royal family and can we blame them? Two Princes named John died quite early; one at birth and the other at the age of thirteen. Also, King John had a troublesome personality and a turbulent reign.
However, it is not all bad news for the name. Many famous and positive people named John have accomplished great things. Among them are:
- John the Baptist – The forerunner of Jesus Christ.
- Apostle John – Close disciple of Christ and author of several books in the New Testament.
- John Cena, Jr. – Professional wrestler, actor, and rapper currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
- John Charles Daly – Born 1914, news commentator, moderator of the show, “What’s My Line?”
- John “Johnny” Depp – American actor, famous for his role in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean.” His son is also named John Depp but goes by Jack.
- John Green – Author.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) – The 35th President of the United States of America.
- John Grisham – Mystery and thriller author.
- John Singer Sargent – American portrait painter and Impressionist.
- John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien – Famous fantasy author and poet, philologist, and professor.
- John Lennon (1940-1980) – British musician (The Beatles, Plastic Ono Band).
- John Mayer – American musician.
- John O’Callaghan – Member of the band “The Maine.”
- Jon Walker – Former bassist of the band “Panic at the Disco.”
- John Spencer MacPherson – Canadian actor.
- John Entwistle (1944–2002) – Bassist, singer, and songwriter from the British rock band “The ”
- John Bonham (1948-1980) – Drummer and songwriter from the British rock band Led Zeppelin. He is considered one of the greatest rock drummers.
- John Deacon – Bassist and songwriter from the British rock band “”
- John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) – American march composer.
- John Flanagan – Australian Author of the “Brother band Chronicles and Ranger’s Apprentice Series.”
- John Tavares – A professional ice hockey player of the New York Islanders.
- John David Linch – Born 2007 son of American legal commentator and television journalist Nancy Grace.
- John Phillips – Born 2009, Son of American actress and model Julie Bowen.
- John Rocco Falconetti – Born 2009, Son of American former artistic gymnast Shannon Miller.
- John Connor – a fictional character in Terminator series of movies and a spin-off series “Sarah Connor.”
Now let’s address the most common John nickname – Jack!
Why Is Jack a nickname for John
With a name that can be traced back to Bible days, John became evolved and altered during the medieval times in the Germanic tongues to Jankin or Jackin. This new variation birthed the common nickname Jack.
Another theory states that In Medieval England, John was generically and that is why an unidentified person even till this day is called a “John Doe.” On the other hand, the French use “Jacques” in the same way. The secondary meaning of Jacques is a young man. You can see the use in the phrase, “Jack of all trade.” So, Jack was derived from Jacques and has been used interchangeably which is why Jack became a popular John nickname.
List of John Nicknames
Below are John Nicknames in sections that include the following: popular, funny, female version and language interpretation of John.
Popular John Nicknames
The popularity of the name John is widespread. You can consider it one of the most masculine names in the United Kingdom. It remained among the top 50 names in England and Wales until 2004. It was the 20th most common name on the Social Security Administration’s list in 2006
- Chumbo
- Jack
- Jackin
- Jacko
- Jay
- Jimbo
- Jimmy
- Jimmy-John
- Jimmy-Johns
- Jo
- Jo-Jack
- Jock
- Jocko
- Jojo
- Joe
- Joey
- Johnnie
- Johnny
- John-John
- Juan
Another way of getting unique nicknames for John is to use the initials of the first name “John” and any middle name. Below are some examples:
- JD – John Daniel
- JJ – John Junior
- JP – John Patrick
- JR – John Raymond
- JT – John Thomas
- JW – John Williams
Funny John Nicknames
We didn’t find a lot of funny John nicknames but, the ones we listed are not terrible. Most of the names are not obviously funny, but the nicknames are weird and strange.
- Johaganny
- Johnica
- John Bon
- Johnny Bravo
- Johnny Casino
- LJ – Little John
- Lumbo
- Mini John
- Ohh Johnny
- Cousin John – US slang for Toilet.
- Piss Place – A funny or should we say, an insulting John nickname derived from the toilet slang – John (As Above)
- Papa John
Female John Nicknames
Almost every masculine interpretation of the name John has a female version. If we have to list all, this article will not be able to contain it. However, we highlighted cool names that a girl can bear with pride. These names make a very good pair with masculine names and nicknames. Your twins will be excited to be called any of the combo.
- Gianna
- Giannina
- Giovanna
- Hanne
- Hanna
- Hannah
- Iva
- Ivana
- Ivanka – Croatia
- Jana
- Janae
- Jane
- Janelle
- Janet
- Janke
- Janneke – Dutch
- Janice
- Janina – Lithuanian
- Janine
- Jean
- Jeanette
- Joan
- Joanne
- Joanna
- Joannah
- Johanna
- Johnella
- Jolene
- Jondee
- Jonnalee
- Jovana – Macedonian
- Luan
- Nina
- Shany
- Siobhan – Irish
- Siwan – Welsh
- Vania
- Xoana
Language Interpretations of John
Because of the religious undertones the name John has, there are variations and interpretation of it in almost all languages on the face of the earth. We have listed some that will make great nicknames as well. It will be cool to tell the others about the language source of the nicknames.
- Chang – Chinese
- Changi
- Changy
- Chuan – Aragonese
- Dzon – Vietnamese
- Evan
- Evandro
- Evaristo – Brazilian
- Everton
- Ganix – Basque
- Ghjuvanni – Corsican
- Gian – Portuguese
- Giovanne
- Giovani
- Giovany
- Gjin – Albanian
- Gjoni
- Gjovalin
- Gjovan
- Gjovanin
- Gwanni – Maltese
- Hampus – Swedish
- Hans – Danish
- Hannes – Dutch
- Hermes
- Hone – Maori
- Iban
- Ivan – Bosnian
- Iyahiya – Bengali
- Jan – Polish
- Janis – Lavian
- Jonas – Lithuanian
- Juan – Spanish
- Juwam – Sinhala
- Manez – Basque
- Ohannes – Armenian
- Sione – Tongan
- Xhoni
- Xuan – Asturian
- Yahya – Quranic name of Arabic origins
- Yane – Bulgarian
- Yann – Breton
- Yannig
- Yoan – Bulgarian
- Yohan – Sinhala
- Zvan – Emiliano-Romagnolo
Still, haven’t found the perfect John nickname? Read our guide on how to come up with pet names for anybody, and then, go ahead and come up with a unique John nickname.
Lastly, if you know any good nickname for John that isn’t on this list, be a dear and add it in the comments section.