Jan or Jaan (, ) or jaan is name of Persian origin meaning for 'soul' or 'life', also used as a diminutive suffix attached to names and expressing intimacy, with a meaning roughly equivalent to "darling, dear". It is commonly used in all Iranic languages and borrowed as a loanword in Azerbaijani, Armenian, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali languages.
Given name Jan Nisar Akhtar, Indian poet Jan Fishan Khan, Afghan warlord Jan Mohammad Jamali, Baluch Sardar Jan Muhammad Junejo, Khilafat Movement leader Jan Mohammed Khan, Afghan politician Jan Uddin, British-Bangladeshi actor and model
Middle name Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Indian musician Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury, Bangladeshi major general and minister Sarwar Jan Chowdhury, Bangladeshi former member of parliament Sarwar Jan Miah, Bangladeshi politician and lawyer
Surname Ahmad Jan (Bagram detainee), Afghan detainee Ahmad Jan (Taliban governor), Afghan governor Hasan Jan (1938–2007), Pakistani assassinated Islamic scholar and politician Khwaja Yusuf Jan, Bengali aristocrat and politician Lalak Jan, Pakistani military personnel Masood Jan, Pakistani blind cricketer Mian Shakirullah Jan, Pashtun judge and member of the PCO Judges case protest Razia Jan (1944–2025), Afghan-American business owner and activist
Variants In Turkic languages, Jan is usually spelled Can (/dʒan ~ ʑan/) and is also used as a component in two-part names (Turkish: Berkecan, Tatar: Ğəlimcan / Галимҗан, etc.). When transliterated from Russian script, it is Dzhan (Джан), or alternatively, Zyan (Зян).
In Uzbek, Jan is Jon (Olimjon).
See also Can (name) Jan (disambiguation)
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