# Why Jhon (language question) ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240 "2017-03-15T16:15:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/1 "2017-03-15T16:15:15Z")
I am fortunate to work with folks from around the world. Mostly we communicate via email (God bless the internet). Oftentimes in the email replies, I am addressed as “Jhon” and I‘m cool with it. I see this mostly coming from the replies de Central and South American countries. I’ve never spoken with many of these people; they only see my name in print and it is spelled as you would expect an American to spell it. Why this preference to swap the o and h? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/2 "2017-03-15T16:22:26Z")
Have you checked your own signature? Maybe you mistpyed it. Possibly it’s in a store somewhere spelled wrongly - My wife gets letters from a company that seems unable to correct her miss-spelled name. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/3 "2017-03-15T16:27:12Z")
I can’t type for shit. If I’m going to type your name, I Hold down shift with a finger on left hand, then hit “j” with a finger from the right. Then sometimes (I don’t know why) instead of just hitting the “o”, I put a finger from right hand on “o” and a finger from left on “h” and try to click them in the correct order really fast, and sometimes screw up. Then hit the “n”. Maybe others do the same thing as me? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/4 "2017-03-15T16:28:11Z")
I don’t know, but I’ll note that “ohn” is a very rare sequence in English words. Besides “john” and its compounds, it only occurs in a few other proper names and the rare word “fohn”. I can imagine that to someone not familiar with the name John, it looks equally as odd as Jhon. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/5 "2017-03-15T16:30:52Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Oftentimes in the email replies, I am addressed as “Jhon” … This is quite a mystery… especially if your name is Elizabeth. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/6 "2017-03-15T16:31:41Z")
Perhaps the “Jh” intuitively feels more like “Juan” for Hispanics? I know that when I’m writing in French, I sometimes mis-spell words to match English spellings or sounds. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/7 "2017-03-15T16:33:01Z")
Similarly, I’m a Michael, and I see my name misspelled “Micheal” fairly often. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/8 "2017-03-15T16:38:04Z")
Seems that Jhon is a Spanish variation: [Jhon - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhon) Jhon a sweet, sensitive guy, laughs a lot, has a big heart, is super cute, likes to have fun, usually is caring, a freak in the sheets, plays sports & likes to have a good time That guy is such a Jhon. He’s so sweet. Google shows a number of results, mostly from S. America. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/9 "2017-03-15T16:41:13Z")
I’ve seen the name ‘Jhon’ mainly from people from Cuba and The Phillippines. Why it is spelled that way, I don’t know, but it’s not uncommon in at least some Spanish-speaking countries. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/10 "2017-03-15T17:12:41Z")
My GF from Monterrey Mexico has spelled it Jhon since I’ve known her. I’ve corrected her a few times at first and then stopped bothering. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/11 "2017-03-15T17:35:07Z")
Thousands of Gandhis eagerly await an answer to this question. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/12 "2017-03-15T17:56:59Z")
It’s common to spell it “J’onn” on Mars. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/13 "2017-03-15T18:02:56Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I’ve seen the name ‘Jhon’ mainly from people from Cuba and The Phillippines. Why it is spelled that way, I don’t know, but it’s not uncommon in at least some Spanish-speaking countries. One who came to mind is MLB player [Jhonny Peralta](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peraljh01.shtml), who is from the Dominican Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/14 "2017-03-15T18:30:38Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I’ve seen the name ‘Jhon’ mainly from people from Cuba and The Phillippines. Why it is spelled that way, I don’t know, but it’s not uncommon in at least some Spanish-speaking countries. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > My GF from Monterrey Mexico has spelled it Jhon since I’ve known her. I’ve corrected her a few times at first and then stopped bothering. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > One who came to mind is MLB player [Jhonny Peralta](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peraljh01.shtml), who is from the Dominican Republic. It’s actually a fairly common spelling in Latin American countries. > [@markn\_1](#): > > I don’t know, but I’ll note that “ohn” is a very rare sequence in English words. Besides “john” and its compounds, it only occurs in a few other proper names and the rare word “fohn”. I can imagine that to someone not familiar with the name John, it looks equally as odd as Jhon. For whatever reason, Spanish speakers seem to find the combination Jh- less weird than -hn, even though neither normally occurs in Spanish. My Germanic surname contains the combination -gehr. English speakers almost always misspell it as -eghr, since the combination -gh is common in English and -hr almost nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/15 "2017-03-15T18:33:06Z")
I lived off and on in Mexico for years. And I’m a John. Yeah, I think a lot of foreign folks – and even some English speakers, especially children\* – know that there’s a weird “h” in “John” that doesn’t belong there, so if they’re unsure, they just insert that “h” in one of the possible locations. As mentioned by others, what was initially a mistake has become an actual “thing” in parts of the Spanish-speaking world, hence the Jhons and Jhonnys out there. \*I actually have an American (then-)child actor’s personalized autograph as a data point. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/16 "2017-03-15T19:03:28Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Seems that Jhon is a Spanish variation: [Jhon - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhon) > > Jhon > a sweet, sensitive guy, laughs a lot, has a big heart, is super cute, likes to have fun, usually is caring, a freak in the sheets, plays sports & likes to have a good time > That guy is such a Jhon. He’s so sweet. > > Google shows a number of results, mostly from S. America. This completely explains it 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/17 "2017-03-15T19:06:33Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > My GF from Monterrey Mexico has spelled it Jhon since I’ve known her. I’ve corrected her a few times at first and then stopped bothering. I go by Jon and my old Argentinian gf would call me “Joni.” Same here, it stopped bothering me after a while. Even when the sun poured in like butterscotch and clung to all my senses. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/18 "2017-03-16T18:19:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s actually a fairly common spelling in Latin American countries. > > For whatever reason, Spanish speakers seem to find the combination Jh- less weird than -hn, even though neither normally occurs in Spanish. My Germanic surname contains the combination -gehr. English speakers almost always misspell it as -eghr, since the combination -gh is common in English and -hr almost nonexistent. I’m guessing you mean misspelling it -gher rather than -eghr? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-jhon-language-question/782240/19 "2017-03-16T18:22:54Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I’m guessing you mean misspelling it -gher rather than -eghr? The first is more common, but the second also occurs. I tell people to spell my name the way that looks wrong. If they spell it so it looks right, that’s wrong. 🙂