*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Sian

An anglicization of Welsh Siân, ultimately from Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced Joh

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A female given name from Welsh [in turn from Hebrew].

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

An anglicization of Welsh Siân, ultimately from Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cy",
        "3": "Siân"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh Siân"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Joanna"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Joanna"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc-koi",
        "3": "Ἰωάννα"
      },
      "expansion": "Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "יוֹחָנָה",
        "tr": "Yôḥānāh",
        "lit": "God is gracious"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Ivana",
        "3": "Jana",
        "4": "Jane",
        "5": "Janice",
        "6": "Janis",
        "7": "Jean",
        "8": "Jeanne",
        "9": "Jen",
        "10": "Joan",
        "11": "Joanna",
        "12": "Joanne",
        "13": "Johanna",
        "14": "Juana",
        "15": "Shavonne",
        "16": "Siobhan",
        "17": "Shane",
        "18": "Shaun",
        "19": "Shauna",
        "20": "Sheena"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Siân",
      "Siân#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "Joanna",
      "Joanna#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Ἰωάννα",
      "Ἰωάννα#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "יוֹחָנָה",
      "יוחנה#Hebrew"
    ],
    [
      "God",
      "God"
    ],
    [
      "gracious",
      "gracious"
    ],
    [
      "יְהוֹחָנָן",
      "יהוחנן#Hebrew"
    ],
    [
      "John",
      "John#English"
    ],
    [
      "Ivana",
      "Ivana#English"
    ],
    [
      "Jana",
      "Jana#English"
    ],
    [
      "Jane",
      "Jane#English"
    ],
    [
      "Janice",
      "Janice#English"
    ],
    [
      "Janis",
      "Janis#English"
    ],
    [
      "Jean",
      "Jean#English"
    ],
    [
      "Jeanne",
      "Jeanne#English"
    ],
    [
      "Jen",
      "Jen#English"
    ],
    [
      "Joan",
      "Joan#English"
    ],
    [
      "Joanna",
      "Joanna#English"
    ],
    [
      "Joanne",
      "Joanne#English"
    ],
    [
      "Johanna",
      "Johanna#English"
    ],
    [
      "Juana",
      "Juana#English"
    ],
    [
      "Shavonne",
      "Shavonne#English"
    ],
    [
      "Siobhan",
      "Siobhan#English"
    ],
    [
      "Shane",
      "Shane#English"
    ],
    [
      "Shaun",
      "Shaun#English"
    ],
    [
      "Shauna",
      "Shauna#English"
    ],
    [
      "Sheena",
      "Sheena#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name from Welsh [in turn from Hebrew]."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "9dde9a3f4d769e312475ad37ebca86eb39ef615d0ed87d5316fa6936ede5de0a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "655666e543faa4de2a02056a68b24f6e56352e284ffcb31f4d6214836dffc796",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3692781
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

Alternative form of Siyan.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Central Kurdish سیان (syan).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ckb",
        "3": "سیان"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Kurdish سیان (syan)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "سیان",
      "سیان#Central_Kurdish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of Siyan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "f60e2e50d1e0528d612c5a6fffe03a520a3658bf2f32d200cd729434b1449bd2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "62fbdbec9bfb893e12a46220fb1346f3489f736e6fe670b89b05371904b66a1d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3692782
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

Alternative form of Xi'an.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the Postal Romanization of Mandarin 西安 (Xī'ān).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mention西安cmn
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "lang",
      "args": {
        "1": "zh",
        "2": "西安"
      },
      "expansion": "西安"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh-postal",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Postal Romanization"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "西安",
        "tr": "Xī'ān"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin 西安 (Xī'ān)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "西安",
      "西安#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of Xi'an."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "6db6bb69fac0b4399d2e513910e9e5238ccf5e9cf803fdbb48034008d32e327a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e1c7bec7d8cacbd110664d7f654e06c2b7cb8a366cc0d9fd7b546eb9eb296cc8",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3692783
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Sian →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-U2lhbg