Joanna
/ˌd͡ʒoʊˈænə/ proper noun, noun
Forms joannas Jo Joann
- proper noun A female given name from Latin [in turn from Hebrew].
- proper noun (biblical) One of the women following Jesus.
- noun (Cockney rhyming slang, often "old joanna") A piano.
Etymology
From Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena.
From the name Joanna, which is a rhyme for the dialectal pronunciation of piano as /piˈænə/.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Joanna”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details