Jhony be good?

July 21, 2009 12:59 PM

A question for all the Peruvian Mefites out there: Is Jhon a fairly common first name in Peru?

If so, is it a 'misspelling' of the English name John or does it have some other origin? Bonus points if you can guide me to a written source (English or Spanish) that mentions this. Many thanks!

posted by otio to writing & language (6 comments total)

I have seen the name Jhon in English sources - it's a way they had of writing John c1600-1700. I don't know if its was a write-o (like a typo, but by hand), or a varient based on pronunciation.
posted by jb at 1:56 PM on July 21

Don't know about Peru specifically but I've only ever seen Jhon listed as a variant on the name John. You can check baby name websites for John that list variant versions to see that.

I've sometimes speculated that the Jhon spelling it is influenced by the name Jehan, one version of which which is a French variant of the name Jean (and Jean is a form of John, of course.) However, this is pure speculation on my part.
posted by gudrun at 4:53 PM on July 21

I have several friends named Jhon in Iquitos. I also have friends named Wladislay, Charitin, Percy, Milton, and Kirle. Peruvians are creative and sometimes miss the spelling boat, but I don't think they care too much.
posted by cachondeo45 at 6:18 PM on July 21

The name Johnny (and Jhonny) is quite popular in Bolivia. I don't know why it's mispelled or why it's so popular.
posted by O9scar at 9:52 PM on July 21

When I see that spelling, I immediately think of the baseball player Jhonny Peralta, who is Dominican. His Wikipedia page notes without citation: "The letter combinations "Jh" or "Gh" are sometimes used in the Spanish language to represent the English "J" sound, as the "J" in Spanish is normally pronounced as an English "H"."
posted by Bromius at 7:54 AM on July 22

Thanks to all.
posted by otio at 9:25 AM on July 23