Ivan (name)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ivan |
|
---|---|
Gender | Male |
Origin | Slavic |
Related names | John |
Wikipedia articles | All pages beginning with Ivan |
Ivan (Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian: Иван, Serbian: Иван, Ukrainian: Iван) is a Christian male given name of Slavic origin, common among Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians, Russians, Serbs (much rarer form compared to Jovan), Slovenians, and Ukrainians.
It is equivalent to the English name John, the Gaelic name Ian, the French name Jean, the Italian name Giovanni, the Portuguese name João, the Romanian name Ion, the Polish name Jan, the Spanish name Juan, and the German name Johann.
Since the 20th century, it has also been used as a popular given name among Italian (as Ivano), Spanish as (Iván), and Portuguese speaking peoples. The name is ultimately derived from the Biblical Hebrew name יוחנן (Hebrew IPA: [jɔχanan]), short for יהוחנן ([jəhoχanan]), meaning "Yahweh is merciful". Its female form is Ivana or Ivanka. Ivan was also occasionally used by Americans during the Cold War as a general name for the Soviets (Compare "Jerry" for the Germans or "Charlie" for the Vietnamese during WWII and the Vietnam War, respectively.).
[edit] Bulgaria
Ivan is the most common Bulgarian male name and the name of several Bulgarian tsars:
Othe Bulgarians
- Ivan Rilski (John of Rila), national saint and hermit
[edit] Russia
Ivan was the name of several Russian tsars throughout history:
- Ivan I, "The Moneybag"
- Ivan II, "The Fair"
- Ivan III, "The Great"
- Ivan IV, "The Terrible"
- Ivan V
- Ivan VI
[edit] Fiction
- Ivan, a fictional secondary character of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
- Ivan the Fool, a fictional character of Ivan the Fool (story)
- Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, a fictional character of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
- A character in Nintendo's Golden Sun
- Ivan Vassilevich Lomov, a character in Anton Chekhov's one-act play, A Marriage Proposal
- Ivan Raidenovich Raikov, a character in Konami's "Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater" game
- Ivan Ilych, the title character of Leo Tolstoy's book, The Death of Ivan Ilych
- Ivan Karamazov, brother of protagonist Alyosha Karamazov, in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Brothers Karamazov