Johannes

Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name ''Yehochanan'', meaning "YHWH is gracious". The name became popular in Northern Europe, especially in Germany because of Christianity. Common German variants for Johannes are ''Johann'', ''Hannes'', ''Hans'' (diminutized to ''Hänschen'' or ''Hänsel'', as known from "''Hansel and Gretel''", a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers), ''Jens'' (from Danish) and ''Jan'' (from Dutch, and found in many countries). In the Netherlands, Johannes was without interruption the most common masculine birth name until 1989. Johannes is also a popular name in South Africa, particularly among Afrikaners, due to Dutch colonial influences in the region. The English equivalent for Johannes is John. Provided by Wikipedia