Names beginning with J

Supplanter, held by the heel (traditional interpretation via Jacob).

From Hebrew Yochanan, 'Yahweh is gracious', via Greek Ioannes and Latin Iohannes. One of the most widespread names in Christian Europe, associated with both John the Baptist and the apostle John.

From a Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), combining 'gwyn' and 'hwyfar'. Confined mainly to Cornwall until George Bernard Shaw's 1906 play The Doctor's Dilemma sparked wider adoption.

God is gracious (via John), though now used as an independent name.

Coined by William Shakespeare for his 1596 play The Merchant of Venice, where it belongs to Shylock's daughter — likely based on the biblical name Iscah, also spelled Jescha/Jischa in some translations of Shakespeare's time.

From Hebrew Yehoshua, combining 'yeho' (referring to God) with 'yasha' ('to save') — 'Yahweh is salvation'. Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites in the Old Testament.

From Ancient Greek Iason, meaning 'healer'. In Greek mythology, Jason led the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece; the name also appears in the New Testament as a Hellenized form possibly of a Hebrew name.

A form of Johannes used across many European languages, from Hebrew Yochanan via Greek Ioannes — 'Yahweh is gracious'.

Traditionally associated with the biblical figure Jonah; some traditions link the underlying Hebrew root to 'dove'.

Commonly interpreted as 'holder of the heel' or 'supplanter', referencing the biblical account of Jacob being born grasping his twin brother Esau's heel. A less common alternate theory holds it may derive from a longer form meaning roughly 'may God protect'.

A variant of Joan/Johanne, ultimately from the same Hebrew-via-Greek-via-Old-French tradition as John (Yochanan, 'Yahweh is gracious') — sometimes also read as a blend of Jo and Anne.

From the Jordan River, from Hebrew Yarden ('descend, flow down'). Crusaders brought water from the river to baptize children in Europe after John the Baptist baptized Jesus there.

Commonly interpreted through its Hebrew root as connected to 'praise', via its relationship to Judah — Behind the Name frames it more narrowly as a variant of Judas.

A form of Jacob (or James) used across Germanic and Scandinavian languages, from the Hebrew Ya'akov.

A medieval variant of Jack, also sometimes used as a short form of Jacob.

Originally a Lowland Scots diminutive of James; used as a feminine name too since the late 19th century.