title: Hans (name)
text: 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), but is now also recognized as a name in its own right for official purposes.  The earliest documented usage was in 1356 in Sweden, 1360 in Norway, and the 14th century in Denmark.
  
  The name "Hansel" (; IPA: /ˈhɛn.zəl/, [ˈhɛnzl̩]) is a diminutive, meaning "little Hans". Another diminutive with the same meaning is  (IPA: /ˈhɛns.çən/), found in the German proverb "", which translates roughly as: "What Hansel doesn't learn, Hans will never learn".
  
  Alternate 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.
  
  Pet, diminutive, alternative and other language forms are:
    (Dutch, German, Swedish, Icelandic, Finnish)
   Honza (Czech)
   Hovhannes ( (Hovhannes) (reformed);  (Yovhannēs) (classical))
   Jack (English)
   Johnny/Johnnie (English)
   John (English)
   יוֹחָנָן yokhanán, Yohanan or יְהוֹחָנָן yehokhanán, Yehohanan (Hebrew)
   Yohanna () the Arabic language derivative, used among Arabic-speaking Christians
   Yahya (), used among Arab and non-Arab Muslims
    (Irish-language derivation of ; in Irish and Scottish Gaelic refers to the Apostle)
   Evan,  (Welsh a pre-Christian Celtic subsequently equated to John)
   Jevan (variation of Evan)
    (Italian)
    (Maltese)
    (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak, German)
    (Slovak)
   , diminutives:  (Slovenian)
    (Hungarian); diminutives: 
    (Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian)
    (Aragonese)
    (Catalan)
    (French)
   , (medieval French), still in use, but rare
    (Breton)
    (Portuguese)
    (Galician)
    (Germanic: German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch)
   ,  (short forms of Johannes)
    (Icelandic)
    (Lithuanian)
    (Serbian)
    (Spanish and Filipino)
    (Finnish)
   Ants (Estonian)
    (Latvian)
   Ian (Scottish derived from Gaelic )
    (Romanian)
    (; Bulgarian, Croatian, Russian and other Slavic languages)
   Sean (Irish , after the French )
   Shane (anglicized form of )
   Shaun (anglicised form of )
   Shawn (anglicised form of )
    (Welsh)
    (Kirundi)
   Yohanes (Eritrean)
    (Western Lombard)
  
  Feminine forms are:
   Hansina, Hansine
    (Norwegian)
   Ioana
   Jana
   Jane
    (Portuguese and Catalan)
    (French)
   Joanne
   Joan
   Johanna
    (Norwegian)
   Jean
   Janice, Janet, both shortened as "Jan"
   Non-English variants adopted as English names include Jeanette
   , ,
  
  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 (born 1938), 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
  
  Painters and sculptors
   Hans Coumans (1943–1986), Dutch painter
   Hans Rudolf Giger (1940–2014), Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer
   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 
  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
   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 Rosenthal (1925–1987), German entertainer and presenter, named 
   Hans Roosipuu (1931–2017), Estonian film director
   Hans H. Steinberg (born 1950), German actor
   Hans Söhnker (1903–1981), German actor
   Hans Strydom (born 1947), South African actor
   Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren) (born 1957), Swedish actor and martial artist
   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 (Wehrmacht general) (1898–1945), last German Army chief of staff during World War II
   Hans Krebs (SS general) (1888–1947), Moravian-born Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
   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
  
  Music
   Hans Guido von Bülow (1830–1894), German pianist and conductor
   Hans Gruber (conductor) (1925–2001), Canadian conductor
   Hans Hartz (1943–2002), German singer 
   Hans Werner Henze (1926–2012), German composer
   Hans Söllner (born 1955), German singer-songwriter
   Hans Zimmer (born 1957), German film composer
   Hans Poulsen (1945–2023), Australian songwriter/musician
  
  Politics
   Hans Apel (1932–2011), German politician 
   Hans Bentzien (1927–2015), East German writer and politician 
   Hans Barchue (died 2023), Liberian 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 Albert Einstein (1904–1973), Swiss-American professor of hydraulic engineering, son of Albert Einstein
  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 Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields
  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 Lauda (1896–1974), Austrian industrialist
  Hans Lowey, Austrian-American chemist
  Hans Merensky (1871–1952), South African geologist
  Hans Oeschger (1927–1998), Swiss climatologist
  Hans Steffen (1865–1937), German geographer and explorer of Patagonia
  Hans Trass (1928–2017), Estonian ecologist and botanist
  
  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 von Tschammer und Osten (1887–1943), German sports director
   Hans Vonk (born 1970), South African soccer player
   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 Biebow (1902–1947), German chief of Nazi administration of the  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 Scholl (1918–1943), German resistance fighter
   Hans Wesemann (1895–1971), German journalist and Gestapo agent
   Hans Wittwer (1894–1952), Swiss architect and Bauhaus teacher
   Hans of Denmark, Scandinavian king 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 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
  
  See also
   Hans-Jörg Butt (born 1974), German footballer
   Hans-Christian Hausenberg (born 1998), Estonian decathlete and long jumper
   Hans-Hermann Hoppe (born 1949), libertarian writer and theorist
   Hans-Ulrich Indermaur (born 1939), Swiss television moderator, reporter, and writer
   Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff (1921–1998), German actor and presenter
   Hans-Joachim Marseille (1919–1942) German captain and fighter pilot, flying ace during the World War II
   Hans-Ulrich Rudel (1916–1982), German ground-attack pilot, the most decorated German serviceman in World War II
   Hanns, a given name
   Hansen (surname)
   Hanson (surname)
  
  References
  
  External links
  Hans on BehindTheName.com
  
  Faroese masculine given names
  Danish masculine given names
  Dutch masculine given names
  Estonian masculine given names
  German masculine given names
  Norwegian masculine given names
  Scandinavian masculine given names
  Swedish masculine given names
  Masculine given names