Hans (name)

Hans
Pronunciation	US: /hɑːnz/ HAHNZ, UK: /hænz/ HANZ ; Danish: [hænˀs] ; German: [hans] ⓘ ; Dutch: [ɦɑns] ⓘ ; Hindi: [ɦɐ̃ns]
Gender	Male
Name day	October 25 (Germany); August 29 (Sweden); June 24th (Norway, Estonia, Denmark); December 27 (Finland)
Origin
Word/name	Pet form of Johannes
Meaning	"God has been gracious"
Region of origin	German, Dutch, Scandinavian
Other names
Pet form(s)	Hampus
Related names	Hanni, Hanno, Hánno, Hannu, Hánsa, Hansi, Hanski, Hanssi, Hanse, Hansu, Hensar, Hampe, Hanseraq, Hansinnguaq, Hasse

Last updated February 25, 2025

Hans is a Germanic male given name in Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Faroese, German, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish-speaking populations. It was originally short for Johannes (John),^[2] but is now also recognized as a name in its own right for official purposes. The earliest documented usage was in 1356 in Sweden,^[3] 1360 in Norway,^[4] and the 14th century in Denmark.^[5]

The name Hansel (German: Hänsel, IPA: [ˈhɛnzl̩] ^ⓘ) is a diminutive, meaning "little Hans". Another diminutive with the same meaning is Hänschen (IPA: [ˈhɛnsçn̩] ^ⓘ), found in the German proverb was Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr; which translates roughly as "what Hansel doesn't learn, Hans will never learn".^{[ citation needed ]}

Separately derived, Hans is also a male given name meaning "swan" in the Sanskrit language families of the Indian subcontinent.

Alternative forms

Other variants include: Han, Hawns, Hanns, Hannes, Hanse, Hansi (also female), Hansie, Hansele, Hansal, Hensal, Hanserl, Hännschen, Hennes, Hännes, Hänneschen, Henning, Henner, Honsa, Johan, Johann, Jan, Jannes, Jo, Joha, Hanselmann, Hansje.^{[ citation needed ]}

Pet, diminutive, alternative and other language forms are:

Hannes (Dutch, German, Swedish, Icelandic, Finnish)
Honza (Czech)
Hovhannes (Armenian : Հովհաննես (Hovhannes) (reformed); Յովհաննէս (Yovhannēs) (classical))
Jack (English)
Johnny/Johnnie (English)
John (English)
יוֹחָנָן yokhanán, Yohanan or יְהוֹחָנָן yehokhanán, Yehohanan (Hebrew)
Yohanna (Arabic : يوحنا) the Arabic language derivative, used among Arabic-speaking Christians
Yahya (Arabic : يحيى), used among Arab and non-Arab Muslims
Eoin (Irish-language derivation of Seán; in Irish and Scottish Gaelic refers to the Apostle)
Evan, Ifan (Welsh a pre-Christian Celtic subsequently equated to John)
Jevan (variation of Evan)
Giovanni, Gianni (Italian)
Ġwanni, Ġwann, Ġanni (Maltese)
Jan (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German)
Ján (Slovak)
Janez, diminutives: Jan, Jani, Janko (Slovenian)
János (Hungarian); diminutives: Jancsi, Jani
Johan (Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian)
Chuan (Aragonese)
Joan (Catalan)
Jean (French)
Jehan, (medieval French), still in use, but rare
Yann (Breton)
João (Portuguese)
Hans (Indonesian)
Xoan, Xan (Galician)
Johannes (Germanic: German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch)
Johan, Johann (short forms of Johannes)
Jón (Icelandic)
Jonas (Lithuanian)
Jovan (Serbian)
Juan (Spanish and Filipino)
Juhani, Juha, Jukka (Finnish)
Ants (Estonian)
Jānis (Latvian)
Ansis (Latvian)
Ian (Scottish derived from Gaelic Iain)
Ion (Romanian)
Ivan (Иван; Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian and other Slavic languages)
Sean (Irish Seán, after the French Jean)
Shane (anglicized form of Seán)
Shaun (anglicised form of Seán)
Shawn (anglicised form of Seán)
Siôn (Welsh)
Yohani (Kirundi)
Yohanes (Eritrean)
Giuàn (Western Lombard)

Feminine forms are:

Hansina, Hansine
Hanna/Hannah/Hanne (Danish,Norwegian)
Ioana
Jana
Jane
Joana (Portuguese and Catalan)
Jeanne (French)
Joanne
Joan
Johanna
Johanne (Danish,Norwegian)
Jean
Janice, Janet, both shortened as "Jan"
Non-English variants adopted as English names include Jeanette
Seònaid, Sinéad, Seònag

People named Hans

Arts and entertainment

Authors

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), Danish author
Hans Henning Atrott (1944–2018), German author and theorist
Hans Einer (1856–1927), Estonian language teacher, author of schoolbooks and a cultural figure
Hans Fallada (1893–1947), German writer
Hans Herbjørnsrud (1938–2023), Norwegian author
Hans Holzer (1920–2009), Austrian-American author and parapsychologist
Hans Henny Jahnn (1894–1959), German playwright and novelist
Hans Lorbeer (1901–1973), German politician and writer
Hans Erich Nossack (1901–1977), German writer

Music

Hans Guido von Bülow (1830–1894), German pianist and conductor
Hans Gruber (conductor) (1925–2001), Canadian conductor
Hans Raj Hans (born 1962), Indian singer
Hans Hartz (1943–2002), German singer
Hans Werner Henze (1926–2012), German composer
Hans Poulsen (1945–2023), Australian songwriter/musician
Hans Söllner (born 1955), German singer-songwriter
Hans Zender (1936–2019), German composer and conductor
Hans Zimmer (born 1957), German film composer

Painters and sculptors

Hans Coumans (1943–1986), Dutch painter
Hans Ruedi Giger (1940–2014), Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer
Hans Heysen (1877–1968), Australian landscape painter
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), German Renaissance portraitist
Hans Seyffer (1460–1509), German sculptor

Other arts and entertainment

Hans Albers (1891–1960), German singer and actor, stage name Der blonde Hans
Hans Christensen (1924–1983), Danish-born American silversmith
Hans Clarin (1929–2005), German actor
Hans Conried (1917–1982), American comedian and actor
Hans Kaldoja (1942–2017), Estonian actor
Hans Klok (born 1969), Dutch magician
Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren) (born 1957), Swedish actor and martial artist
Hans Matheson (born 1975), Scottish actor
Hans Moser (actor) (1880–1964), Austrian actor born Jean Julier
Hans Heinz Moser (1936–2017), Swiss actor
Hans Werner Olm (born 1955), German cabaret performer and comic
Hans Roosipuu (1931–2017), Estonian film director
Hans Rosenthal (1925–1987), German entertainer and presenter, named Hänschen Rosenthal
Hans Söhnker (1903–1981), German actor
Hans H. Steinberg (born 1950), German actor
Hans Strydom (born 1947), South African actor
Hans Wegner (or Hans Jørgensen Wegner, 1914–2007), Danish furniture designer

Medicine

Hans Asperger (1906–1980), Austrian pediatrician for whom Asperger syndrome is named
Hans Berger (1873–1941), German neurologist
Hans Sauer (1857–1939), South African general practitioner, lawyer, and businessman

Military and paramilitary

Hans Aumeier (1906–1948), German Nazi SS deputy commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp executed for war crimes
Hans Berndtson (born 1945), Swedish Army lieutenant general
Hans Bothmann (1911–1946), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
Hans Dreyer (1930/31–2015), South African Police major general and head of Koevoet
Hans Hagnell (1919–2006), Swedish politician
Hans Helwig (1881–1952), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
Hans Horrevoets (1974–2006), Dutch sea sailor
Hans Hüttig (1894–1980), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
Hans Kalm (1889–1981), Estonian-born military officer
Hans Krebs (SS general) (1888–1947), Moravian-born Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
Hans Krebs (Wehrmacht general) (1898–1945), last German Army chief of staff during World War II
Hans Loritz (1895–1946), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
Hans von Luck (1911–1997), German officer
Hans Möser (1906–1948), German Nazi SS concentration camp officer executed for war crimes
Hans Osara (c. 1560–1601), Finnish lieutenant in the Cudgel War
Hans Oster (1887–1945), German brigadier general and deputy head of military intelligence
Hans Simonsson (1880–1965), Swedish Navy vice admiral

Politics

Hans Apel (1932–2011), German politician
Hans Barchue (died 2023), Liberian politician
Hans Bentzien (1927–2015), East German writer and politician
Hans Blix (born 1928), Swedish diplomat and politician
Hans, Count von Bülow (1774–1825), Prussian statesman
Hans Eichel (born 1941), German politician
Hans Ekström (born 1958), Swedish politician
Hans Filbinger (1913–2007), German politician
Hans Frank (1900–1946), German Nazi lawyer and governor general of Nazi-occupied Poland executed for war crimes
Hans Friderichs (born 1931), German politician and businessman
Hans Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016), German politician
Hans Gualthérie van Weezel (born 1941), Dutch politician and diplomat
Hans Gustafsson (1923–1998), Swedish politician
Hans Hamilton (1758–1822), Anglo-Irish politician
Hans Koschnick (1929–2016), German politician
Hans Kruus (1891–1976), Estonian historian, academic and politician
Hans Rasmus Hansen (1896–1971), Danish politician
Hans Rebane (1882–1961), Estonian politician, diplomat and journalist
Hans Reingruber (1888–1964) was a German academic and transport minister of East Germany
Hans Strijdom (1893–1958), South African politician and Prime Minister
Hans Unander (born 1970), Swedish politician
Hans Vijlbrief (born 1963), Dutch state secretary
Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020), German politician
Hans Wiegel (born 1941), Dutch politician

Science

Hans Ankum (1930–2019), Dutch legal scholar
Hans Avé Lallemant (1938–2016), Dutch-born American geologist
Hans Bethe (1906–2005), German-American nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate
Hans Bos (born 1950), Dutch biochemist and cancer researcher
Hans Capel (1936–2023), Dutch physicist
Hans Cohen (1923–2020), Dutch microbiologist
Hans Albert Einstein (1904–1973), Swiss-American professor of hydraulic engineering, son of Albert Einstein
Hans Freeman (1929–2008), German-born Australian protein crystallographer who elucidated the structure of plastocyanin
Hans Geiger (1882–1945), German physicist, inventor of the Geiger counter
Hans Hass (1919–2013), Austrian diver, naturalist and film-maker
Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981), German-born, British physician and biochemist; identified citric acid cycle
Hans Küng (1928–2021), Swiss Catholic theologian and author
Hans Langmaack (born 1934), German computer scientist and mathematician
Hans Lauda (1896–1974), Austrian industrialist
Hans Lowey, Austrian-American chemist
Hans Merensky (1871–1952), South African geologist
Hans Oeschger (1927–1998), Swiss climatologist
Hans Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields
Hans Steffen (1865–1937), German geographer and explorer of Patagonia
Hans Trass (1928–2017), Estonian ecologist and botanist
Hans von Ohain (1911-1998), German Physicist, and Aerospace pioneer.

Sports

Hans Christian Bernat (born 2000), Danish professional footballer
Hans Christensen (footballer) (1906–1992), Danish footballer
Hans Dersch (born 1967), American breaststroke swimmer
Hans Eller (1910–1943), German rower
Hans Erkens (born 1952), Dutch footballer
Harold Goldsmith, born Hans Goldschmidt (1930–2004), American Olympic foil and épée fencer
Hans Halberstadt (1885–1966), German-born American Olympic fencer
Hans Knecht (1913–1996), Swiss road racing cyclist
Hans Krankl (born 1953), Austrian football player and trainer
Hans Lutz (born 1949), German track and road cyclist
Hans Maier (1916–2018), Dutch Olympic water polo player
Hans Maier (rower) (1909–1943), German Olympic rower
Hans Nüsslein (1910–1991), German tennis player
Hans Parrel (born 1944), Dutch water polo player
Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (born 1988), Chilean tennis player
Hans Sarpei (born 1976), Ghanaian soccer player
Hans Stolfus (born 1976), American beach volleyball player
Hans Vanwijn (born 1995), Belgian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Hans von Tschammer und Osten (1887–1943), German sports director
Hans Vonk (born 1970), South African soccer player
Hans Wieselgren (born 1952), Swedish Olympic fencer
Hans Wouda (born 1941), Dutch water polo player

Other fields

Hans Werner Aufrecht (born 1936), German automotive engineer, one of the founders of AMG Engine Production and Development
Hans Benno Bernoulli (1876–1959), Swiss architect
Hans Besig (1908–1965), German Classical Archaeologist and teacher
Hans Biebow (1902–1947), German chief of Nazi administration of the Łódź Ghetto, executed for war crimes
Hans Claessen (1563–1624), Dutch founder of the New Netherland Company
Hans von Dohnanyi (1902–1945), German jurist and resistance fighter
Hans Otto Hoheisen (1905–2003), South African conservationist and philanthropist
Hans Mayer (1907–2001), German literary scholar
Hannes Meyer (or Hans Emil Meyer, 1889–1954), Swiss architect and second director of the Bauhaus
Hans Niemann (born 2003), American chess player
Hans Jürgen Rösler (1920–2009), German mineralogy professor
Hans Scholl (1918–1943), German resistance fighter
Hans Wesemann (1895–1971), German journalist and Gestapo agent
Hans Wittwer (1894–1952), Swiss architect and Bauhaus teacher
John, King of Denmark, a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union.
Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein.
Hans-Adam II, the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, since 1989.

Fictional characters

Characters named Hans in Grimms' Fairy Tales:
- Clever Hans
- Hans in Luck
- Hans Married
- Hans My Hedgehog
- Hans Stupid
- Strong Hans
Hans, a character in the 1992 American sports comedy-drama movie The Mighty Ducks
Hans Brinker, Dutch ice skater in an 1865 novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge
Hans, a henchman of James Bond's opponent in You Only Live Twice
Hans, a German enemy character in the fighting game Human Killing Machine
Hans Castorp, main character in The Magic Mountain
Hans, a supporting character in SpongeBob SquarePants
Hans Guck-in-die-Luft, a character from one of the poems in Struwwelpeter
Hans Moleman, from The Simpsons
Hans Geering, in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
Hans Gruber, antagonist from Die Hard
Hans, Disney character and the main antagonist of Frozen
Hans, one of the main characters from the 1990s animated movie The Nutcracker Prince
Hans Zarkov, protagonist from Flash Gordon
Hans Gudegast, the name given to the mountain climber in Cliff Hangers, a pricing game on the U.S. television game show The Price Is Right
Hans Landa, from Inglourious Basterds
Hans Volter, the main antagonist from the video game Killing Floor 2
Super Hans, in the British TV comedy Peep Show
Hans and Franz, recurring sketch characters on Saturday Night Live
Sgt Hans Schultz, in the situational comedy Hogan's Heroes , portrayed by John Banner
Hans Axgil, from the novel The Danish Girl , played by Matthias Schoenaerts in the 2015 film of the same name
Hans Hubermann, the foster father of Liesel Meminger from the novel The Book Thief
Hans, in Jules Verne's novel Journey to the Center of the Earth
Hanschen Rilow, from the musical Spring Awakening
Hans Zoë (also translated as Hange Zoë or Hanji Zoë), from the manga series Attack on Titan
Hans, a cat representing Germany, Belgium, e t c. in the Chinese animated series and webcomic Year Hare Affair

References

↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
↑ Dahl, Árni (2005). Navnabókin. ISBN 9789991849393.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ Otterbjörk, Roland (1979). Svenska förnamn. ISBN 9789121109373.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ Stemshaug, Ola; Kruken, Kristoffer (1995). Norsk Personnamnleksikon. ISBN 978-8252120363.^{[ page needed ]}
↑ Meldgaard, Eva Villarsen (2004). Den store navnebog. ISBN 9788711160435.^{[ page needed ]}

External links

Hans on BehindTheName.com

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[1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

[2] Dahl, Árni (2005). Navnabókin. ISBN 9789991849393.^{[ page needed ]}

[3] Otterbjörk, Roland (1979). Svenska förnamn. ISBN 9789121109373.^{[ page needed ]}

[4] Stemshaug, Ola; Kruken, Kristoffer (1995). Norsk Personnamnleksikon. ISBN 978-8252120363.^{[ page needed ]}

[5] Meldgaard, Eva Villarsen (2004). Den store navnebog. ISBN 9788711160435.^{[ page needed ]}

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