Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

, clan, surname and onomastic element.

As given name

Etymology and history

''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

name

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. It is the name of the apostle Saint John in Albanian ( sq, Shën Gjon).Riska, Albert (2013)
"The Christian Saints in the (Micro)toponymy of Albania"
''Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS)'' vol 2 issue 3. Pages 167-176. Pages 169,172-175 Most saint names in Albanian come from Latin; John is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Iohannes 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 '' Ye ...

, the Latin form of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Ioannes Joannes or John ( la, Iohannes; died 425) was western Roman emperor from 423 to 425. On the death of the Emperor Honorius (15 August 423), Theodosius II, the remaining ruler of the House of Theodosius, hesitated in announcing his uncle's dea ...

(), derived from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

name

Yohanan Yohanan, Yochanan and Johanan are various transliterations to the Latin alphabet of the Hebrew male given name ('), a shortened form of ('), meaning "YHWH is gracious". The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of the S ...

(), meaning "God is gracious". Both theologists and linguists are unsure about the relationship of the name ''Gjon'' to ''Gjin''—the Catholic clergy considers the two to be the same saint, but the Christians of the Central Albanian Shpati region (who are Orthodox) revere Gjin and Gjon as separate saints, while linguists are unsure about the etymology of Gjin and whether or not it shares its origin with Gjon. In the Middle Ages the name Gjon was very widespread in all Albanian regions. Until lately it was also prevalent among

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

The name Gjon is also mentioned in the afterword of

Gjon Buzuku Gjon Buzuku (15 March 1499 – 9 October 1577) was an Albanian Catholic priest who wrote the first known printed book in Albanian. Gjon Buzuku according to the elders wrote the Missal in the village of Brisk Posht in the Shestan - Krajë region, ...

's 1555 book,

Meshari ''Meshari'' ( Albanian for "Missal") is the oldest published book in Albanian. The book was written by Gjon Buzuku, a Catholic cleric in 1555. The book contains 188 pages and is written in two columns. ''Meshari'' is the translation of the main ...

, where the author introduces himself to the reader as "''Unë, dom Gjoni, biri i Bdek Buzukut''" ("''I, don Gjoni, son of Bdek Buzuku''").

People with the given name Gjon

* Gjon Françesku Albani (1720–1803), Italian cardinal of Albanian descent *

(1499–1577), Albanian writer *

Gjon Delhusa Gjon Delhusa (; born 9 August 1953) is a Hungarian singer, composer and lyricist, and the cousin of singer Gábor Ihász and footballer Kálmán Ihász. He was the 1996 representative for Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Early li ...

(born 1953), Hungarian singer *

Gjon Gazulli Gjon Gazulli ( la, Johannes Gasulus) Gjadër, Republic of Venice, 1400 – Dubrovnik, 19 February 1465) was an Albanian Dominican friar, humanist scholar, and diplomat.

(1400–1465), Albanian scholar and diplomat *

Gjon Kastrioti II Gjon II Kastrioti ( it, Ioanne Castrioto,Theodore Spandounes (Spandugnino), De la origine deli Imperatori Ottomani, Sathas, C. N. (ed.) (1890) Documents inédits relatifs à l'histoire de la Grèce au moyen âge, IX (Paris), p. 159 Giovanni Cast ...

(1456–1502), Albanian nobleman * Gjon Kastrioti (died 1437), Albanian nobleman *

Gjon Markagjoni Gjon Markagjoni (28 August 1888 – 28 April 1966) was an Albanian Catholic clan chieftain ( sq, Kapedan). Biography He was born in Orosh, Mirdita, the only son of Kapidan Marka Gjoni (1861–1925). His father was the leader or Kapidan of ...

(1888–1966), Albanian clan leader *

Gjon Mili Gjon Mili (November 28, 1904 – February 14, 1984) was an Albanian photographer from Korçë who developed his profession in America, best known for his work published in ''Life'', in which he photographed artists such as Pablo Picasso. Biogr ...

(1904–1984), Albanian photographer * Gjon Muharremaj (born 1998), Swiss-Albanian singer *

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; it, Giovanni Musachi di Berat ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi'' (Shor ...

, medieval Albanian noble of the

Muzaka family The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...

and writer of his famous memoir *

Gjon Ndoja Gjon Zef Ndoja (born 18 May 1991 in Shkoder) is an Albanian professional basketball player who currently plays for BC Vllaznia in the Albanian Basketball League The Albanian Basketball League is the men's professional basketball league in Alb ...

(born 1991), Albanian basketball player * Gjon Progoni (died 1208), Albanian nobleman *

Gjon Simoni Gjon Simoni, Albanian musicologist and composer, was born in Shkodër on 8 February 1936 into an Albanian family of long cultural tradition and died in Tirana on 2 July 1999. He was active in his city's musical life very early. In 1966 he gradua ...

(1936–1999), Albanian musician *

Gjon Zenebishi John Zenevisi or Gjon Zenebishi ( sq, Gjon Zenebishi or ''Gjin Zenebishi''; died 1418) was an Albanian magnate that held the estates in Epirus, such as Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër) and Vagenetia. Name Zenevisi can be found with different spelli ...

(died 1418), Albanian nobleman

People with the surname Gjonaj

* Adriana Gjonaj, Albanian politician *

Algert Gjonaj Algert Gjonaj (born 18 October 1987) is an Albanian professional basketball player who plays for BC Vllaznia in the Albanian Basketball Superliga The Albanian Basketball Superliga is the men's professional basketball league in Albania. It was f ...

(born 1987), Albanian basketball player * Etilda Gjonaj (born 1981), Albanian politician * Kujtim Gjonaj (born 1946), Albanian screenwriter *

Mark Gjonaj Mark Gjonaj ( ; born December 1968) is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 13th district from 2018 to 2021. He previously represented the 80th district of the New York State Assembly from 2013 to 2017. His dis ...

, American politician *

Salvador Gjonaj Salvador Gjonaj (born 26 September 1992) is an Albanian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up att ...

(born 1992), Albanian footballer

As surname

Gjoni or Gjonaj is a common Albanian last name, from the

Gjon. The names ''Joni'' and ''Jonima'' also have the same source, and the latter (under the modern Albanian form ''Gjonima'') being the surname of members of the

Jonima family The Jonima family ( sq, Gjonima) was an Albanian noble family that held a territory around Lezhë (northern Albania), as a vassal of Arbër, Serbia and Ottoman Empire, active in the 13th to 15th centuries. The Jonima, like most Albanian noble f ...

. The

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and K ...

family name Đonović is derived from the first name Gjon which means that it is of Albanian origin.

History

The clan of Gjoni was first recorded in 1306. Originally Christian, it is shared between Albanian Christians and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

People with the surname Gjoni

Simon Gjoni Simon Gjoni (Shkodër, 1925–1991) was an Albanian conductor, and composer of many popular pieces for piano and orchestra.Jim Samson Music in the Balkans 2013 p458 "Finally, Simon Gjoni (1928-91), another Shkodér—born composer, studied conduc ...

(1925-1991), Albanian composer * Dhimitër Gjoni, Nobleman * Xhelil Gjoni, Politician * Sadri Gjoni, Soccer player *

Ilir Gjoni Ilir Gjoni (born 20 April 1962) is an Albanian politician. He served as the Minister of Defence of Albania from 7 July 2000 to 8 November 2000, and Minister of Internal Affairs from 8 November 2000 to 22 February 2002. He was appointed interior ...

, Politician * Vladislav Gjoni, Nobleman * Ingrid Gjoni (born 1981), Albanian singer *

Vilson Gjoni Vilson is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Vilson Ahmeti (born 1951), Albanian politician * Vilson Caković (born 1991), Serbian footballer * Vilson Džoni (born 1950), Croatian footballer * Vilson (Brazilian football ...

(born 1950), Croatian footballer *

Sara Gjoni Sara Gjoni (born in Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwe ...

(born 1997), Miss Albania *

Eron Gjoni Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" pri ...

, Programmer, 1st Amendment activist *

Marka Gjoni Kapidan Marka Gjoni (1861–1925) was the chieftain of the Mirdita region and tribe in North Albania. He was born in Orosh. He was made '' Kaymakam'' of Mirdita by the Ottoman Empire during the absence of Prenk Bib Doda, who was interned in Ana ...

Kapedan of the Mirdita clan * Renne Gjoni Actor

As toponym

''Gjon'', due to historic naming of places after the saint, became an element in Albanian toponyms, contributing to the formation of placenames such Shijon, Shinjan, Gjonm and Gjorm, the difference between the latter two demonstrating

Tosk Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is t ...

rhoticism.Riska, Albert (2013)
"The Christian Saints in the (Micro)toponymy of Albania"
''Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS)'' vol 2 issue 3. Pages 167-176. Pages 169, 172

References

Sources

* * * https://web.archive.org/web/20120211183414/http://www.albanianhistory.net/texts15/AH1470.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gjon (Name) Albanian masculine given names Albanian-language surnames