Jane
Meaning of Jane
Jane is a single silver bell of a name: born from the Hebrew phrase “Yohanan,” wandering through medieval Latin as Johanna, lingering in French salons as Jeanne, and arriving in English gardens pared to one bright syllable, yet still carrying the susurro of “Deus gratias”—God is gracious; she glows with literary ink, for she is the quill in Jane Austen’s hand and the quiet courage of Jane Eyre, while in pop-culture jungles she swings beside Tarzán with laughter light as maracas. Though ranked today in the two-hundreds, her history once soared like swallows over 1950s suburbia, proving that simplicity can dance with splendor. In Spanish-speaking hearts she finds primas called Juana and Juanita, and together they weave mantillas of shared tradición. She is often dubbed a “plain Jane,” but the joke—gentle as a wink—lands softly, for beneath that modest facade lives a name that fits a newborn, a CEO, or a bisabuela sipping café con leche beneath bougainvillea. Compact, classic, and gracious at its core, Jane is an ageless bloom whose fragrance lingers long after the vowels fade.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as jayn (/dʒeɪn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Notable People Named Jane
| Jane Fonda is an American actress and activist whose career spans six decades and has earned her two Oscars, two BAFTAs, seven Golden Globes, an Emmy, and multiple lifetime achievement honors. |
| Jane Austen was an English novelist renowned for six novels critiquing the late 18th century English landed gentry. |
| Jane Goodall is an English zoologist, primatologist, and anthropologist, widely regarded as the leading expert on chimpanzees for her decades of research that began at Gombe in Tanzania in 1960. |
| Jane Zhang is a Chinese singer, songwriter, and producer famed for her whistle register and Dolphin Princess nickname, releasing a string of albums from 2006 to 2011 including the double platinum Reform. |
| Jane Siberry is a Canadian singer and songwriter known for Mimi on the Beach and Calling All Angels, who sang the Maniac Mansion theme and released music as Issa from 2006 to 2009. |
| Jane Sissmore - Jane Archer, born Kathleen Sissmore, became the first woman officer in MI5, investigated Soviet espionage, and later joined MI6 where double agent Kim Philby curtailed her work. |
| Jane Marcet was an English writer and salonniere of Genevan descent who popularized science and, with her 1816 Conversations on Political Economy, brought the ideas of Adam Smith, Malthus, and David Ricardo to a wide audience. |
| Dame Jane Campion is a New Zealand filmmaker known for films about rebellious outsider women and a leading voice in women centered cinema. |
| Jane Pauley is an American television host and author who rose to fame after succeeding Barbara Walters on the NBC morning show Today, coanchored it from 1976 to 1989, and later coanchored Dateline NBC with Stone Phillips from 1992 to 2003. |
| Jane Maria Swift is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served as Massachusetts lieutenant governor and acting governor, becoming the first woman to perform the duties of governor there and at 36 the youngest female governor in US history. |
| Jane Goldman is a British screenwriter and producer best known for acclaimed collaborations with Matthew Vaughn on Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class, the Kingsman films, and the story for X-Men Days of Future Past. |
| American musician and actress Jane Wiedlin cofounded the Go Gos, voiced Dusk in the Hex Girls, and built a successful solo career. |
| Jane Baillie Carlyle was a Scottish writer married to Thomas Carlyle. |
| Jane Hamsher is an American film producer, author, and blogger known for the memoir Killer Instinct about co producing Natural Born Killers and for founding the progressive blog FireDogLake. |
| Jane O'Donoghue is a retired British tennis player who won multiple ITF titles, twice reached the Wimbledon second round, peaked inside the top 200 in singles and doubles, and later became an LTA coach. |
