Help, please! I love [name]Iona[/name], but I want to name the baby after my grandmother, [name]Jane[/name]. I see that [name]Ioana[/name] is a variant of [name]Jane[/name] and [name]Ion[/name] (yon) is a variant of [name]John[/name] (mas. [name]Jane[/name]) but everywhere I look I see that [name]Iona[/name] means “island,” or possibly “dove” or “amethyst.” I can’t find a reference to “God is [name]Gracious[/name]” (meaning of [name]John[/name]/[name]Jane[/name]) or that it is used anywhere are a variant of [name]Jane[/name].
[name]Do[/name] any of you know anywhere in the world where [name]Iona[/name] is a variant of [name]Jane[/name]? Have you ever heard of this? [name]Do[/name] any of you know anything about [name]Iona[/name] beyond island/dove/amethyst?
I’m familiar with Iona as an island off the coast of Scotland (hence it doesn’t mean “island”, it simply is an island). It was once a monastery for Saint Columba, whose name means “dove”, so that’s where the connection comes in. I can’t comment as to the amethyst meaning. Ione is a legitimate variation, notable for the British actress Ione Skye.
Ioana, however, is a variant of Jane via Johanna - I think in Greek the I replaces the J. So Ioana would be pronounced “Yo-AH-na” rather than “I-OWN-a”.
I don’t know if that helps, or merely complicates, but there you go.
Yes, I knew that, and it makes me sad. 
I am trying to figure out if there is any connection, anywhere between the two. Like a variant of a variant of a variant, [name]Iona[/name] is used as [name]Jane[/name] in this country… So far, I’m not having any luck, so I thought I would ask the experts. 
[name]Just[/name] googling, and I see [name]Ioana[/name] is used as version of [name]Joan[/name]/[name]Johanna[/name] in Romania as well.
Sorry I couldn’t give the answer you wanted! Either way, [name]Iona[/name] or [name]Ioana[/name] would be a lovely choice
Goodness, don’t be sorry! It was a blind hope; I don’t expect you to work miracles. I am very grateful for your reply.
Yes, as far as I know this is true (and where [name]Ioana[/name] is most common). I had a Romanian-American friend whose name was [name]Ioana[/name], but it was pronounced ih-WAH-nah/ah-WAH-nah/ee-WAH-nah, depending on the emphasis (and how American you were, lol).
As far as I know, [name]Iona[/name] isn’t connected to the Greek form of Yochanan (which is originally where [name]John[/name] comes from, I believe!)–if you love [name]Iona[/name] so much though, why not just use [name]Iona[/name] [name]Jane[/name]? I think that would work just fine, myself. 
[name]Ashley[/name], We need a Greek mythology name first, this is for the middle:
https://nameberry.com/nametalk/threads/116048-Name-this-baby!