Jovani

Jovani is an Americanized corruption of Giovanni which itself is the Italian form of John. No matter what language you use, John remains one of the most popular and long enduring names throughout Western Christianized Culture (all thanks to the New Testament figures of John the Baptist and John the Apostle). The Russians gave us Ivan, the Germans gave us Johan and the French gave us Jean. We get Juan from the Spanish, Hans and Jan from Scandinavia, Sean from the Irish and Ian from the Scots. And of course there’s Giovanni from the Italians. Although technically speaking Jovan is a legitimate spelling of John among Serbians and some Slavs, Jovani, Jovanni and Jovanny are nothing more but American inventions (coined off Giovanni). Some might also argue that Jovani is a corruption of Jovianus, referring to the ancient Roman god Jove (aka Jupiter); Jove received his name from the Latin “Iovis” meaning “to shine”). Jove was essentially the supreme god of Roman mythology; i.e., the Roman counterpart to the Greek Zeus.