Joan is mainly a female name in the English language, but is a male name in Catalan, Occitan, and Dutch. It is related to the names John, Jane, Jean, Jeanne, Johan, Joanna, Juan, João, Ivana, Jovan, Jovana, Ioan, Ioana, Jan, Jann, Yanne, Jouan, Ioan, and Siobhán.
The English female name is an English form of the Old French name Johanne, a female variant of the male name Johannes. The name ultimately derives from the Biblical Hebrew name יוחנן Yôḥānān, short for יהוחנן Yəhôḥānān, meaning "Yahweh is merciful". People and fictional characters named Joan include:
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