Yanis is a French and North African form of the Greek Ioannis, that is, John, and means "God is gracious". It is one of the most popular boys' names in France, where it is favored in families of Algerian and Moroccan background, and Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis made it internationally known. In the United States Yanis ranked number 3771 in 2015, peaked at number 2132 in 2021 and stands at number 2568 in 2025.