Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name Yehochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious". The name became popular in Northern Europe, especially in Germany because of Christianity. Common German variants for Johannes are Johann, Hannes, Hans (diminutized to Hänschen or Hänsel, as known from "Hansel and Gretel", a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers), Jens (from Danish) and Jan (from Dutch, and found in many countries). In the Netherlands, Johannes was without interruption the most common masculine birth name until 1989. The English equivalent for Johannes is John.