Joanna

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Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from Koine Greek Ιωαννα Iōanna. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, and Jean.

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[edit] In other languages

The earliest recorded occurrence of the name Joanna, in Luke 8:3, refers to the disciple Joanna the wife of Chuza, who was an associate of Mary Magdalene. Her name as given is Greek in form, although it ultimately originated from the Hebrew masculine name יְהוֹחָנָן Yehôḥānān or יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānān meaning 'God is gracious'. In Greek this name became Ιωαννης Iōannēs, from which Iōanna was derived by giving it a feminine ending. The original Latin form Joanna was used in English to translate the equivalents in other languages; for example, Juana la Loca is known in English as Joanna the Mad. The variant form Johanna originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The Greek form lacks a medial -h- because in Greek /h/ could only occur initially.

The Hebrew name יוֹחָנָה Yôḥānāh was borne by men in earlier centuries, but in modern usage it has become feminine, to provide a Hebrew equivalent for the name Joanna and its variants. The Christian Arabic form of John is يوحنّا Yūḥannā, based on the Syriac form of the name. For Joanna, Arabic translations of the Bible use يونّا Yuwannā based on Syriac ܝܘܚܢ Yoanna, which in turn is based on the Greek form Iōanna. The Islamic Arabic equivalent of John is Yaḥyá, which has no feminine equivalent; it is a masculine verbal phrase meaning 'he lives', and the feminine-gendered verb meaning 'she lives' is taḥyá, but *Taḥyá is not used as a name.

Sometimes in modern English Joanne is reinterpreted as a compound of the two names Jo and Anne, and therefore given a spelling like JoAnne, Jo-Anne, or Jo Anne. However, the original name Joanna is a single unit, not a compound. The names Hannah, Anna, Anne, Ann are etymologically related to Joanna just the same: they are derived from Hebrew חנה Ḥānāh 'grace' from the same verbal root meaning 'to be gracious'.

[edit] Women named Joanna or Johanna

Joanna Kerns, the actress who played Maggie Seaver on 'Growing Pains'

  • Joanna Al-Askari Hussein, known as Joanna of Kurdistan, a peshmerga warrior from Kurdistan in northern Iraq, who fought Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s and then escaped.

[edit] Joanna in popular culture

  • "Joanna" is the title of a song by Cris Williamson.
  • One of Bob Dylan's most critically praised songs is "Visions of Johanna."
  • Joanna is the title of a 1925 American silent movie and a 1968 British musical movie.
  • Joanna Marie Santos, equipment maintenance, Analog Devices Inc.,

[edit] Other uses

  • "The joanna" or "the old joanna" are nicknames given to the piano.

[edit] External links

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