Janke is a name of Germanic origin. This name is popular in countries speaking Dutch or

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, such as

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. As a first name, it is usually attributed to a woman in South Africa. (This being due to a TV series aired in the 1990s where one of the main female protagonists was named Janke). It may also appear as a male first name amongst other families with ties to Germanic background. Spelling variations include Jancke, Jankhe, and (rarely) Janckhe. The name is derived from the Dutch male name Jan (a form of John or Johan), and features the suffix "-ke", which makes it a pet name, almost meaning "Baby Jan". People with the surname Janke include: *

Barbara Janke Barbara Lilian Janke, Baroness Janke (born 5 June 1947) is a British former teacher and politician. She was the Liberal Democrat leader of Bristol City Council from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2012. She was first elected councillor for Clifton ...

(born 1947), British teacher and politician * Curt W. Janke (1892–1975), American politician *

Dennis Janke Dennis Janke (born April 13, 1950Janke entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. ...

(born 1950), American comic book artist *

Dexter Janke Dexter Janke (born October 4, 1992) is a Canadian football coach who is currently the defensive and special teams coordinator for the Westshore Rebels of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He played professionally as a defensive back ...

(born 1992), Canadian football defensive back *

Fred Janke Fred C. Janke (pronounced yonkee) (April 28, 1917 – January 24, 2009) was an American football player, business executive and politician. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1936 to 1938 and was the captain of the 1938 M ...

(1917–2009), American football player, business executive and politician *

Gabriele Janke Gabriele Janke (born 23 February 1956) is a German fencer. She competed in the women's individual and team foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Met ...

(born 1956), German fencer *

Grant Janke Grant Donovan Janke (born 2 November 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player, currently playing with the . His regular position is winger or outside centre. Career Youth After being included in the Griffons' squad during the ...

(born 1990), South African rugby union player *

Janusz Janke Janusz Janke (born 19 September 1966, in Koszalin) is a Polish civil servant who serves the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Qatar since 16 September 2018. Life Janusz Janke has graduated in 1995 from law at the John Paul II Catholic Un ...

(born 1966), Polish diplomat *

Karin Janke Karin Janke (born 14 October 1963, in Wolfsburg) is a retired German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. She represented the sports club VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wo ...

(born 1963), retired German sprinter *

Kleber Janke Kleber Janke or simply Kleber Lapa (born April 12, 1988 in Lapa), is a Brazilian defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attac ...

(born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Terri Janke, Wuthathi/Meriam Indigenous lawyer *

Toni Janke Toni Janke ( ) is an Australian soul singer. She is a mother of two, a singer/songwriter/musician and is one of Australia's youngest Indigenous university graduates. She won a Deadly in 2002 for Female Artist of The Year Janke has Aboriginal ...

, Australian soul singer

See also