Ivan () is a Slavic 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 f ...

, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bulgarian Saint Ivan of Rila. It is very popular in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and has also become more popular in Romance-speaking countries since the 20th century.

Etymology

Ivan is the common Slavic

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

spelling, while

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

spelling is two-fold: in Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian, Serbian and Montenegrin it is , while in Belarusian and Ukrainian it is . The

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

(or Old Cyrillic) spelling is . It is the Slavic relative of the

name , corresponding to English '' John''. This Slavic version of the name originates from New Testament Greek (''Iōánnēs'') rather than from the Latin . The Greek name is in turn derived from

יוֹחָנָן (), meaning " YHWH (

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

) is gracious". The name is ultimately derived from the Biblical Hebrew name (), short for (), meaning "God was merciful". Common

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

s derived from the name are Ivanović ( Serbian and Croatian), Ivanov ( Russian and Bulgarian), and Ivanovich (Russian, used as middle name), corresponding to "Ivan's son".

Popularity

The name is common among

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

, Belarusians, Macedonians,

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, Bosnians, Montenegrins, and to a smaller extent

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

and

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

. Ivan is the most common male name in

(as of 2013) and

(as of 2013). In Serbia, it was the 9th most common male name in the period of 1971–1980; 6th in 1981–1990; 9th in 1991–2000. It is also the 6th most common name in Slovenia. In Croatia, with over thirty thousand namesakes, the name Ivan was the most popular between 1930 and 1940, and waned in popularity from 2003 to 2013. The name Ivan was the most common masculine given name until 1959, and between 1980 and 1999. Since the 20th century, it is becoming more popular in the Romance-speaking world; Italian (both the original form and the italianized version, ''Ivano''), Spanish (as ''Iván''), and Portuguese (sometimes ''Ivã''). ''Ivan'' (pl. ''die Ivans'') was also occasionally used by various parties during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a general name for the Soviets.

Forms

Its female forms are '' Ivana'' (West and South Slavic) and ''Ivanna'' (East Slavic), while '' Ivanka'' and ''Iva'' are diminutives by origin. Slavic male diminutives (including historical) are Vanya or Vanja, Ivaniš, Ivanko, Ivanča, Ivanče, etc. A shorter form of the name is Ivo.

Notable people

Mononymously known as

* Ivan (footballer, born 1984), Brazilian football player * Ivan (footballer, born 1997), Brazilian football player * Ivan (model) (Liera Manuel Ivan, born 1984), Japanese fashion model and musician * Iván (singer) (Juan Carlos Ramos Vaquero, born 1959 or 1962), Spanish singer * Ivan (Belarusian-Russian singer) (Alexander Ivanov), Belarusian-Russian singer *Ivan, German codename of Serbian spy Duško Popov

Royalty

* Ivan Vladislav, Bulgarian emperor (1015–1018) * Ivan Asen I, Bulgarian emperor (1189–1196) * Kaloyan, Bulgarian emperor (1197–1207) *

Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria, Ivan Asen I one of the founders of th ...

, Bulgarian emperor (1218–1241) * Ivan II, Bulgarian emperor (1298-1299) * Ivan Stephen, Bulgarian emperor (1330–1331) * Ivan Alexander, Bulgarian emperor (1331–1371) * Ivan Shishman, Bulgarian emperor in Tarnovo (1371–1395) * Ivan Stratsimir, Bulgarian emperor in Vidin (1356–1396) * Ivan I, "The Moneybag", Grand Duke of Moscow (1325–1340) * Ivan II, "The Fair", Grand Duke of Moscow (1353–1359) * Ivan III, "The Great", Grand Prince of Moscow (1462–1505) * Ivan IV, "The Terrible", Russian tsar (1547–1584) * Ivan V, Russian tsar (1682–1696) * Ivan VI, Russian emperor (1740–1741)

Nobility

* Ivanko, a Bulgarian boyar who killed Tsar Ivan Asen I in 1196 * John Horvat (''Ivan Horvat'', d. 1394), Hungarian-Croatian nobleman, Ban of Macsó (1376–1381, and 1385–1386) * John of Palisna (''Ivan od Paližne'', d. 1391), Hungarian-Croatian nobleman, Ban of Croatia (1385–1386) * Ivanko, a Bulgarian despot of the Despotate of Dobruja, ruled 1385-1399 * Ivan Bohun (died 1664), colonel of Ukrainian Cossacks * Ivan Bot, Hungarian-Croatian nobleman, Ban of Croatia (1493) * Ivan Mazepa, Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in Ukraine * Ivan Mažuranić, Austro-Hungarian nobleman, Ban of Croatia (1873–1880), and poet * Ivan Pidkova (died 1578), Ukrainian Cossack leader * Ivan Sirko (c. 1610–1680), Ukrainian Cossack military leader * Ivan Sulyma, Ukrainian Cossack leader * Ivan Samoylovych (died 1690), Cossack hetman of Left-bank Ukraine

Clergy

* Ivan Lee (1955 or 1956–2020), Australian Anglican bishop * Ivan Rilski (''John of Rila''), Bulgarian Orthodox hermit and patron saint (876–946)

Military

* Ivan Konev, a Russian/Soviet general * Ivan Bagramyan, a Soviet/Armenian general * Ivan Mihailov, a Bulgarian revolutionary * Ivan Kolev, a Bulgarian general during

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

* Ivan Valkov, a Bulgarian general during

and later Minister of War

Politics

* Ivan Ahčin (1897–1960), Slovene sociologist, publicist, journalist, author, and politician * Ivan Benediktov (1902–1983), Soviet politician * Iván Duque Márquez (born 1976), President of Colombia * Ivan Evstratiev Geshov (1849–1924), 18th Prime Minister of Bulgaria * Ivan Fadeev (1906–1976), Soviet economist and politician * Ivan Knotek (1936–2020), Slovak politician * Ivan Korčok (born 1964), Slovak politician * Ivan Kostov (born 1949), 47th Prime Minister of Bulgaria * Ivan Peshev (born 1986), Bulgarian politician * Ivan Štefunko (born 1977), Slovak politician * Ivan Varga (1953–2021), Slovak politician * Ivan Vasyunyk (born 1959), Ukrainian politician * Ivan Warner (1919–1994), New York politician and judge

Sports

* Ivan Almeida (born 1989), Cape Verdean basketball player * Ivan Aska (born 1990), American basketball player in the Israeli National League * Iván Campo (born 1974), Spanish footballer * Ivan Capelli (born 1963), Italian former Formula One driver * Ivan Cleary (born 1971), Australian Rugby League player and coach * Iván Córdoba (born 1976), Colombian footballer * Ivan Domingues (born 2006), Portuguese racing driver * Iván Fandiño (1980–2017), Spanish bullfighter * Ivan Fedotov (born 1996), Russian ice hockey goaltender * Iván González Ferreira (born 1987), Paraguayan footballer * Iván Helguera (born 1975), Spanish footballer * Iván Herrera (born 2000), Panamanian baseball player * Iván Hurtado (born 1974), Ecuadorian footballer * Ivan Ivanov (born 1988), Bulgarian footballer and manager * Ivan Kley (1958–2025), Brazilian tennis player * Ivan Lee (born 1981), American Olympic saber fencer and coach * Ivan Leko (born 1978), Croatian soccer player and coach * Ivan Lendl (born 1960), Czech-American tennis player * Ivan Leshinsky (born 1947), American-Israeli basketball player * Ivan Ljubičić (born 1979), Croatian tennis player * Ivan Majeský (born 1976), Slovak ice hockey defenseman * Iban Mayo (born 1977), Spanish cyclist * Ivan Miljković (born 1979), Serbian volleyball player * Ivan Osiier (1888–1965), Danish épée, foil, and sabre fencer, 25x Danish champion * Ivan Pace Jr. (born 2000), American football player * Ivan Perišić (born 1989), Croatian footballer * Ivan Pravilov (1963–2012), Ukrainian ice hockey coach charged with child molestation * Ivan Rakitić (born 1988), Croatian football player * Iván Rodríguez (born 1971), Puerto Rican baseball player * Ivan Rudež (born 1979), Croatian basketball coach * Ivan Runje (born 1990), Croatian footballer * Ivan Sproule (born 1981), Northern Irish footballer * Ivan Toney (born 1996), English footballer * Ivan Wilfred Johnson (1898–1979), Canadian hockey player * Iván Zamorano (born 1967), Chilean footballer * Iván Zarandona (born 1980), Equatoguinean footballer * Ivan Zaytsev (disambiguation), several sportsmen * Ivan Zemlyanskii (born 2010), Russian chess grandmaster

Arts

* Ivan Barias, Dominican-American music producer and songwriter * Ivan Brunetti (born 1967), cartoonist * Ivan Bunin (1870–1953), Russian writer and Nobel laureate in literature * Ivan Della Mea (1940–2009), Italian singer-songwriter * Ivan Dixon (1931–2008), American actor, director and producer * Ivan Dorn (born 1988), Ukrainian singer and actor * Ivan Doroschuk (born 1957), lead vocalist for Men Without Hats * Ivan Dorschner (born 1990), Filipino-American actor, host and model * Ivan Franko (1856–1916), Ukrainian writer * Ivan (gorilla), painter * Ivan Graziani (1945–1997), Italian singer-songwriter * Ivan Jones (author), Ivan Jones, British Writer and poet * Ivan Král (1948–2020), Czech-American musician * Ivan Meštrović (1883–1962), Croatian sculptor and architect * Van Morrison (George Ivan Morrison, born 1945), Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician * Ivan Moody (born 1980), singer of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch * Ivan Ozhogin (born 1978), Russian singer and actor * Ivan Reitman (1946–2022), Czechoslovak-born Canadian film and television director, producer and screenwriter * Ivan Turgenev (1818–1893), Russian novelist * Ivan Urgant (born 1978), Russian television personality, presenter, actor and musician * Ivan Vazov (1850–1921), Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature" * Ivan Shishmanov (1862–1928), Bulgarian writer, ethnographer, politician and diplomat

Science, academia, business and other

* Ivan Aboimov (1936–2022), Russian diplomat and ambassador * Ivan Agayants (1911–1968), Soviet intelligence officer of Armenian origin * Ivan Aksakov (1823–1886), Russian littérateur and notable Slavophile * Ivan Boesky (born 1937), Wall Street trader who inspired the character of Gordon Gekko in the film ''Wall Street.'' * Ivan Chermayeff, graphic designer * Ivan Corea, Sri Lankan Anglican priest * Ivan Gazidis (born 1964), chief executive of the AC Milan * Ivan Glasenberg (born 1957), CEO of Glencore, director of Xstrata and Minara Resources * Ivan Greenberg (1896–1966), English journalist * Ivan Hričovský (1932–2024), Slovak celebrity gardener * Ivan Ilyin (1883–1954), Russian religious and political philosopher * Ivan Massow (born 1967), chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts * Ivan Menezes (1959–2023), CEO of Diageo, non-executive director at Coach, Inc. * Backpacker Murders#Ivan Milat, Ivan Milat, Croatian Australian serial killer famous for the backpacker killings * Ivan Miller (journalist), Ivan Miller (1898–1967), Canadian journalist and sportscaster * Ivan Vsevolodovich Meshcherskiy (1859–1935), Russian mathematician * Ivan J. Parron, entertainment attorney and entrepreneur * Ivan Pavlov (1849–1946), Russian physiologist and Nobel laureate in Medicine & Physiology * Ivan Rogers (born 1960), British civil servant, former Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union * Ivan Seidenberg (born 1946), chairman & CEO at Verizon Communications * Ivan Selin (born 1937), former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fulbright scholar * Ivan Semwanga, Ugandan-born South African philanthropist * Ivan Šramko, (born 1957), Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (2005–2010) * Ivan Wettengel (1876–1935), Naval Governor of Guam Special:PrefixIndex/Ivan, Other notable people with the given name "Ivan"

Fiction

* Ivan Braginsky, the given name for the national personification of Russia from the anime series ''Hetalia: Axis Powers'' * Ivan, a secondary character of ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' * Ivan the Fool, a character of the eponymous story * Ivan Vanko, an antagonist from the Marvel Comics franchise Iron Man, The Invincible Iron Man who appears as the primary antagonist in the Iron Man 2, sequel to the Iron Man (2008 film), film adaptation * Ivan Denisovich, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, a character of ''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' * Ivan, a Nintendo character in the ''Golden Sun (series), Golden Sun'' series * Ivan, a Nintendo character in ''Devil's Third'' and Pokémon series * Ivan Vassilevich Lomov, a character in Anton Chekhov's one-act play, ''A Marriage Proposal'' * Ivan Raiden (Metal Gear), Raidenovich Raikov, a character in video game ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'' * Ivan Ilych, the title character of Leo Tolstoy's book, ''The Death of Ivan Ilyich'' * Ivan Karamazov, brother of protagonist Alyosha Karamazov, in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, ''The Brothers Karamazov'' * Ivan, in the 2006 film ''Curious George (film), Curious George'' * Ivan Ivanovitch, a Russian painter who appears in ''The Smurfs (1981 TV series), The Smurfs''. He has a magic chicken named Kiev, in which lays painted eggs. * Ivan Veen, in Vladimir Nabokov's ''Ada or Ardor'' * Ivan Drago, in ''Rocky IV'' * Ivan Nikolayevich Ponyryov (Bezdomny), in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, ''The Master and Margarita'' * Ivan Shawbly, from the television series ''Mona the Vampire'' * Ivan Ooze (Power Rangers), Ivan Ooze, the villain in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' * Sir Ivan of Zandar, the Gold Ranger in Power Rangers Dino Charge and Power Rangers Dino Super Charge * Ivanhoe, an 1820 novel by Sir Walter Scott *Ivan (gorilla), Ivan, a Western lowland Gorilla, the star and basis of the 2012 K.A. Applegate novel ''The One and Only Ivan'' and its The One and Only Ivan (film), film adaptation. *Ivan Bruel, in the animated series ''Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir''

References

{{given name Slavic masculine given names Bosnian masculine given names Bulgarian masculine given names Croatian masculine given names Masculine given names Czech masculine given names Macedonian masculine given names Russian masculine given names Serbian masculine given names Slovene masculine given names Slovak masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Ukrainian masculine given names