Jean is a French, English, and Chinese

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Origins

Jean may be a

French surname French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

from the given name Jean ( fro,

Jehan Jehan is a male given name. It is the old orthography of Jean in Old French, and is rarely given anymore. It is also a variant of the Persian name Jahan in some South Asian languages. People with the given name Jehan * Jehan Adam (15th centur ...

), or an

English surname English names are names used in, or originating in, England. In England as elsewhere in the English-speaking world, a complete name usually consists of a given name, commonly referred to as a first name, and a (most commonly patrilineal) family ...

which originated as a variant spelling of

Jayne Jayne is used both as a surname and as a given name. Surname * Billy Jayne, American television and film actor *Caroline Furness Jayne (1873–1909), American ethnologist *Erika Jayne, American dance/club music performer * Francis Jayne (1845–1 ...

or as a

toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

referring to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, Italy. It may also be an Americanised or

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

spelling of various

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlik ...

s, including

Jian The ''jian'' (pronunciation （劍）, English approximation: ) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the ''jian'' date to the 7th century BCE, during the Spring and ...

and Zhen. Variant spellings of the English and French surnames include Jenn, Jenne, Jeanne, Geen, Genn, and

Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pa ...

Statistics

French government statistics show 33,393 people with the surname Jean born in France from 1891 to 2000 (see table). Statistics compiled by

Patrick Hanks Patrick Hanks (born 24 March 1940) is an English lexicographer, corpus linguist, and onomastician. He has edited dictionaries of general language, as well as dictionaries of personal names. Background Hanks was educated at Ardingly College ...

on the basis of the

2011 United Kingdom census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for Nationa ...

and the

Census of Ireland 2011 The 2011 census of Ireland was held on Sunday, 10 April 2011. It was administered by the Central Statistics Office of Ireland and found the population to be 4,588,252 people.

found 305 people with the surname Jean on the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and six on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In the

1881 United Kingdom census The United Kingdom Census of 1881 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of Sunday 3 April 1881, and was the fifth of the UK censuses to include details of household members. Data recorded Details collected include: address, ...

there were 130 bearers of the surname, primarily in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

found 21,140 people with the surname Jean, making it the 1,703rd-most-common surname in the country. This represented an increase from 15,321 people (2,172nd-most-common) in the 2000 census. In the 2010 census, 22.9% of the bearers of the surname identified as

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...

(down from 31.7% in the 2000 census), and 70.2% as non-Hispanic black (up from 55.5% in the 2000 census).

People

Arts and entertainment

Film and television

* Gloria Jean (1926–2018), American actress and singer * Rodrigue Jean (born 1957), Canadian film director *

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

(born 1961), American screenwriter and producer *

Vadim Jean Vadim Jean (born Bristol, 9 December 1963)"Zip up your Rhino suit"
Global Ideas Bank ...

(born 1963), English film director

Music

* Bernard Jean (born 1948), Canadian oboist *

Martin Jean Martin David Jean (born 1960) is an American organist considered to be in the "highest ranks of the world's concert organists".Martin Jean ...

(born 1960), American organist *

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

(born 1972), American musician, music producer, and actor *

Carlos Jean Carlos Jean Arriaga (born 15 February 1973) is a Spanish DJ and record producer born in the region of Galicia in Northwestern Spain. He is the co-founder of the group Najwajean, and has been a producer for some of the most important Spanish and ...

(born 1973), Spanish DJ * Anik Jean (born 1977), Canadian pop and rock singer, actress and screenwriter * Misty Jean (born 1980), Haitian singer and model *

BC Jean Brittany Jean Carlson (born April 22, 1987), better known by her stage name BC Jean, is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for writing and singing the song "If I Were a Boy" with which Beyoncé would later achieve worldwide com ...

(born 1987), American singer-songwriter

Painting and graphics

Philip Jean Philippe Jean (or Philip Jean; 1755 – 1802) was a painter. Career and life Jean was born in Saint Ouen, Jersey, the son of Nicholas Jean and Marie Grandin.from Jean family history, private collection. He was at first in the English Roya ...

(1755–1802), Jersey painter * Nehemy Jean (born 1931), Haitian painter and graphic artist * Eugène Jean (born 1951), Haitian painter * Jean-Baptiste Jean (1953–2002), Haitian painter *

James Jean James Jean is a Taiwanese-American visual artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He lives and works in Los Angeles, where he moved from New York in 2003. Early life Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New Jersey. During his early ed ...

(born 1979), Taiwanese-born American visual artist

Government and politics

* Léon Jean (1901–1986), French politician, member of the National Assembly with the French Section of the Workers' International * Bernard Jean (politician) (1925–2012), Canadian politician from New Brunswick *

Fritz Jean Fritz Alphonse Jean (born 1956) is a Haitian economist, politician and writer who served as governor of the Banque de la République d'Haïti from 1998 until 2001. Since 2012, he is the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Professio ...

(born 1953), Haitian economist and politician, former central bank governor * Christine Jean (born 1956 or 1957), French environmental activist *

Lorri Jean Lorri L. Jean (born ) is an LGBT rights activist and the current CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center (LALGBTC). Jean spent ten years as an attorney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including three years overseeing the disaster ...

(born ), American LGBT rights activist *

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...

(born 1957), 27th Governor General of Canada * Mireille Jean (born 1960), Canadian politician from Quebec * Lane Jean (born 1958), American politician from Arkansas *

Brian Jean Brian Michael Jean (born February 3, 1963) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development since 2022 and the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since Ma ...

(born 1963), Canadian politician from Alberta * Ignatius Jean (), Saint Lucian legislator

Sport

Association football

* Philippe Jean (footballer) (born 1959), French midfielder * Earl Jean (born 1971), Saint Lucian striker * Nesley Jean (born 1985), Bahamian forward * Lior Jean (born 1986), Israeli defender and midfielder * Corentin Jean (born 1995), French striker

Other

* Walt Jean (1898–1961), American NFL offensive lineman *

Max Jean Max Jean (born 27 July 1943) is a French former racing driver who won the Formule France championship in 1968. In addition to numerous Formula Two and Formula Three entries, Jean participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, driving a March for Fr ...

(born 1943), French racing driver *

Domingo Jean Domingo Jean Luisa (born January 9, 1969) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball, pitching in 10 games for the New York Yankees in . Professional career White Sox Jean was originall ...

(born 1969), Dominican baseball pitcher * Dierry Jean (born 1982), Haitian-born Canadian boxer * Louis-Philippe Jean (born 1984), Canadian strength athlete *

Olivier Jean Olivier Jean (born March 15, 1984) is a three time Olympian who represented Canada in both short and long track speed skating. Olivier Jean is a gold medalist from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games in the men's 5000m relay. He is a canadian short ...

(born 1984), Canadian short-track speed skater *

Aurore Jéan Aurore Jéan (née Cuinet; born 25 June 1985 in Besançon) is a French cross-country skier who has competed since 2005. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she finished sixth in the 4 × 5 km relay, 15th in the 30 km, 24th in th ...

(born 1985), French cross-country skier * Jhohanny Jean (born 1988), Dominican taekwondo practitioner * Lestar Jean (born 1988), American NFL wide receiver

Other

Athanase Jean Athanase Jean (born 1861 in Saint-Césaire, died 1932 at Rouffiac, Charente-Maritime) was a French country doctor and writer. Life Athanase Jean, better known by the name of Doctor Jean, was born on 24 November 1861 at Saint-Cesaire, Charente-Ma ...

(1861–1932), French country doctor and writer * Georges Jean (1920–2011), French linguist, semiotician, poet and essayist * Raymond Jean (1925–2012), French writer * E. Jean (born 1943), American journalist and advice columnist * Stella Jean (born 1979), Italian fashion designer *

Michel Jean Michel Jean is a Canadian television journalist and author. He is currently the weekend anchor of ''TVA Nouvelles'' on TVA, and was formerly an anchor on TVA's newsmagazine ''JE'' and for the 24-hour news channel RDI. In addition to his journa ...

, Canadian television journalist

References

{{surname Americanized surnames English-language surnames French-language surnames Multiple Chinese surnames Surnames from given names Surnames of Haitian origin