John in Arabic has three spellings. يوحنا (Yūḥannā) is the Christian form, for John the Baptist and John the Apostle. يحيى (Yaḥyā) is the Quran's name for John the Baptist, the one Muslims use. جون (Jon) spells the English sound, for an English speaker like John Keats.
Copy the form you need. The Listen button reads each spelling in your device's Arabic voice, if it has one, so you can hear how يحيى, يوحنا and جون differ.
| Use it for | Copy this | Transliteration | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Quranic form, the one Muslims use | يحيى | Yaḥyā | |
| The form Arab Christians use, from the Arabic Bible | يوحنا | Yūḥannā | |
| The English name John, spelled by its sound | جون | Jon |
John in Arabic calligraphy, in three styles
Renders of يوحنا, يحيى and جون, in Amiri, Reem Kufi and Rakkas, drawn straight from the font files.
يحيى, يوحنا or جون: which spelling should you use?
For John the Baptist, Muslims say يحيى and Arab Christians say يوحنا: Arabic Wikipedia has an article under each, يحيى بن زكريا and يوحنا المعمدان. John the Apostle has no Quranic name and is يوحنا only. An English speaker called John is جون.
| Spelling | Who uses it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| يحيى | Muslims: John the Baptist, as the Quran names him | Quran 19:7; Arabic Wikipedia, يحيى بن زكريا |
| يوحنا | Arab Christians: John the Baptist and John the Apostle | Arabic Wikipedia, يوحنا المعمدان |
| جون | Arabic writing the English name John by its sound, for an English speaker | our name tool, from Arabic Wikipedia |
The two forms are different words. يوحنا follows the Greek and Hebrew name. يحيى is the name the Quran gives in Quran 19:7, where Zechariah is told of a son named Yaḥyā, a name given to no one before him.
How Arabic Wikipedia writes people called John
For John the Baptist, Arabic Wikipedia uses the Arabic form. For the four modern people called John in the table below, its titles write جون four times. Our name tool gives جون, the spelling of John Lennon's article.
| Person or work | Arabic Wikipedia title | First name as written |
|---|---|---|
| John Keats | جون كيتس | جون |
| John Steinbeck | جون ستاينبيك | جون |
| John Coltrane | جون كولترين | جون |
| John Lennon | جون لينون | جون |
How يحيى is spelled, letter by letter
يحيى has four letters, read from right to left, starting with the letter ي, yāʾ. Every letter of يحيى joins the one after it, so the name is one unbroken shape. Arabic writes only long vowels as letters. The two short vowels are marks that everyday spelling leaves out; يَحْيَى shows them.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Joins the next letter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ي | yāʾ | ya | Yes |
| ح | ḥāʾ | ḥ | Yes |
| ي | yāʾ | y | Yes |
| ى | alif maqṣūra | ā, written with alif maqṣūra | Last letter |
What does John mean?
John means Yahweh is gracious, according to Behind the Name. John comes through Latin Iohannes and Greek Ioannes from the Hebrew Yoḥanan, made of yo, the Hebrew God, and ḥanan, to be gracious. John was one of the 25 most common names given to boys born in the US in 2024, in the Social Security Administration's 2024 national file, as copied in the usbabynames data package.
Two related names on this site are James in Arabic, جيمس and Michael in Arabic, ميخائيل. For Arabic names to choose from, browse the Arabic boy names with their meanings, part of our Arabic vocabulary lists.
Write يحيى in more fonts and download it
Paste يحيى into the box below, or into our Arabic calligraphy generator, to draw it in 12 more fonts and save it as a PNG.
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Naskh the print style
Thuluth-style Naskh with Thuluth touches
Kufi angular, for logos and titles
Ruqah everyday handwriting
Nastaliq the hanging Persian and Urdu style
Kano West African reed-pen style
Poster bold display lettering
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Frequently asked questions
What is John in Arabic for Christians?
Arab Christians write John as يوحنا (Yūḥannā), for John the Baptist (يوحنا المعمدان) and for John the Apostle. Wiktionary lists it for any of the New Testament figures named John, and as a given name.
Is Yahya the same as John?
Yaḥyā, يحيى, is the Quran's name for John the Baptist (19:7), so it is the Muslim equivalent of John for that figure. It is not used for John the Apostle, and it is a different word from the Christian يوحنا.
What does the name John mean?
John means Yahweh is gracious. It comes from the Hebrew Yoḥanan.
Which spelling of John should I use for a tattoo?
Muslims write the name يحيى and Arab Christians write it يوحنا; for the English name as English speakers say it, use جون. In يحيى: All of its letters join, so it is written as one connected shape. In يوحنا: The letter wāw never joins the letter after it, so the one small gap is correct. Paste your choice into the Arabic tattoo checker on this site before the stencil is made.