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most of the time i think female, but because it is my pa's name (as he is dutch and it is the dutch form of John) I dont get suprised if it is a guy

Living where I do, I assume it's male all right. But the context usually helps, if it isn't.

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I prefer it as a fem form of Janet or Janice, both dated; but that doesn't mean I like it.

In the United States I would assume female if I saw it written. My uncle and his grandson are both names Jan though.

I pronoucne it defferently for males and females. If I saw it written where I live I'd assume it was female.

In Croatia it would be male (pronounced like Yan), but in US/UK I'd assume that it was a nickname for Janet or Janice.

I'd assume female but I wouldn't be utterly surprised to see a male one. No thoughts, reminds me of jam pronounced the English way.

This message was edited 7/11/2010, 12:38 PM

Either

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Both Jans I know are male and pronounced Yan, but there are still a lot of female Jans here, mostly over 50 and short for Janet or Janice. I like it: it's short and cheerful-sounding, with both pronunciations.

Male - since it is the full first names of both my dad and a male cousin. No naming after, long story.

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And it is a name only for males here in Denmark, so that's how I'm always going to see it here.

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However if I were outside my country, it would be a toss up for how I'd see it then.

If it were implied to be a full name based on context, then male. I don't think I've ever encountered a woman named just Jan, and Jan on a male isn't terribly uncommon around here. I also like it on a guy, so my brain would instantly go to that.

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I think it's a nice strong name, but it's gentle at the same time. It's my friend's dad's name, so it also makes me think of him.

I've met more females Jans, but oddly enough I assume it is a male when I see it written.

Female, as a NN for Janet or Janice.

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It's sporty, but not one of my favorites. I like Janet and Janice, though.

Jan is used as a male name here and I would find it really confusing and strange to meet a female Jan. My grandpa was named Jan and my brother's MN (one of them..)

Male, but it bores me to death. It's really common here in Germany and I actually know more guys named Jan than with any other name. I've also seen Jann and endlessly annoying combos like Jan-Hendrik and Jan-Christoph. BORING. For a girl I find it homely.

Because I'm from Sweden I assume Jan is male. It is not used as a feminine name here. I actually now someone named Jan. His' full name is Jan-Erik but he's called Jan. He's about 60.

Either

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If it's somewhere I'd expect to see a formal name, like the arrest blotter or a class roster, I like to assume it's a male. In more casual contexts I just can't say. I think Jan is a terribly handsome name for a boy and pretty meh for a girl.

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I used to work with a man called Janis. Customers who called for Janis did not generally interpret his name correctly.

I think of Jan as a male name. I live in the UK but I study German and have many German friends, so most of the Jans I know are guys.

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I like it but I much prefer Yann

I assume it's female, though I did go to art school with male Jan. If it's for a male, I like it, but preferably said "Yan", like Jan van Eyck. Jan for a female is a little tired for me, though it would be fun to see a toddler Jan.

In Germany (where I live) I would definitly assume it is male, because, Jan (pron. Yahnn) is an very very common name for boys and I've never seen that for a girl here.

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In an englishspeaking country I would think it is a shortform of a female name, like Janet or something.

I've met men named Jan (pronounced "YAHN") and women named Jan ("JAN"), so I don't really have a strong tendency to assume that the person is either male or female. It depends on what the name is paired with. If it's paired with a Scandinavian or German surname, I wonder if the person is male, but if the last name is something like Miller or Smith, I'm more inclined to think that the person is probably female.

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I don't really care for it either way to be honest. I think it would be refreshing to meet a little girl named Jan, but I don't have a very good association with the name, so I wouldn't use it myself. Jan ("YAHN") reminds me of the word "yawn", so I wouldn't want to use it for a boy either.

I think of Jan as a female name, but that's probably because all of the Jans I know are female and I live in the US.