Hankin

Hankin is a medieval English pet form and hypocoristic diminutive of John, itself derived from the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning God is gracious. The element Han represents a reduced form of Johan, while the suffix kin is a diminutive borrowed from Dutch and Low German, widely used in Middle English to form affectionate shortened names. Hankin was common in England during the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries and appears in literary contexts, including as a character name in medieval drama. Related forms include Hann, Hankins as a surname, and the parallel diminutive Hancock.