Jan
Jan is a unisex given name: about 80% of people named Jan are men and 20% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
Jan · Ján
- Verdict
- Mostly male
- Male / female split
- 80% male / 20% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Czech Republic, Netherlands
- Also spelled
- Ján
- US births since 1880
- 21,852 male / 54,508 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Jan
To address Jan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Jan," in English, "Guten Tag Jan," in German. About 80% of people named Jan are men and 20% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Jan,
German
Guten Tag Jan,
French
Bonjour Jan,
Spanish
Estimado/a Jan:
Chinese
Jan您好：
Japanese
Jan様
English
Hi Jan,
German
Hi Jan,
French
Salut Jan,
Spanish
Hola Jan,
Chinese
Jan你好：
Japanese
Janさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 29% |
| Czech Republic | very common | man's name | 98% |
| Netherlands | very common | man's name | 98% |
| Slovakia | very common | man's name | 98% |
| Denmark | common | man's name | 98% |
| Norway | common | man's name | 98% |
| Poland | common | man's name | 98% |
| Sweden | common | man's name | 98% |
| Belgium | common | man's name | 98% |
| East Frisia | common | man's name | 98% |
| Germany | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Switzerland | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
Show all 19 countries
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Austria | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Estonia | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Ireland | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Israel | rare | man's name | 75% |
| Romania | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Great Britain | rare | woman's name | 2% |
United States birth data
21,852 male · 54,508 female · 76,360 births recorded
Since 1980: 77% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Jan a male or female name?
Jan is a unisex given name: about 80% of people named Jan are men and 20% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
How do I address Jan in an email?
To address Jan when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Jan," in English, "Guten Tag Jan," in German. About 80% of people named Jan are men and 20% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Is Jan a unisex name?
Jan is not a unisex name: 80% of people named Jan are men. Jan leans strongly male overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Jan a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/jan (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_jan,
title = {Is Jan a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/jan},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}