Gjoni

Gjoni
Family name
Meaning	"Grace of God"
Language(s) of origin	Hebrew
Related names	Gjon, Gjok, Gjin, Gjovan, Gjovalin, Johan, Jovan, Ivan (given name), Đonović (surname)

Gjon (definite form: Gjoni) is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element.

Gjon as a given name is a form of the English name . It is the name of the apostle Saint John in Albanian (Albanian: Shën Gjon). Most saint names in Albanian come from Latin; John is from the Latin Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek Ioannes (Ἰωάννης), derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan (יוֹחָנָן‎), meaning "God is gracious". Both theologists and linguists are unsure about the relationship of the name Gjon to Gjin -- the Catholic clergy considers the two to be the same saint, but the Christians of the Central Albanian Shpati region (who are Orthodox) revere Gjin and Gjon as separate saints, while linguists are unsure about the etymology of Gjin and whether or not it shares its origin with Gjon.

Gjoni or Gjonaj is a common Albanian last name, from the given name Gjon. The names Joni and Jonima also have the same source, and the latter (under the modern Albanian form Gjonima) being the surname of members of the Jonima family. The Serbian language family name Đonović is derived from the first name Gjon which means that it is of Albanian origin.

The clan of Gjoni was first recorded in 1306. Originally Christian, it is shared between Albanian Christians and Muslims.

...
Wikipedia