I’ve been crushing on this lately. I’m not sure if it would work in the US, as the J is pronounced differently in [name_m]German[/name_m], but I just love [name_m]Johannes[/name_m]! What do you think? Any associations?
I love it! I think [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] is a very charming and sophisticated name. I’m not so fond of [name_m]Hans[/name_m], but it’s okay as a nn.
I love [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] as well! I think it’s lovely, and although it has a very [name_m]German[/name_m]/Scandinavian feel, I don’t think it’d be unusable in [name_u]America[/name_u]/[name_f]England[/name_f]. I think it’s a pretty well-known name so I don’t think MOST people would have trouble pronouncing the ‘J’ as a ‘Y’. Aside from that, people will probably catch on pretty quickly if they don’t know how to pronounce it at first.
The nn [name_m]Hans[/name_m] is cute. I’m not a huge fan of [name_m]Hans[/name_m] as a first name, but as a nn I think it works fine and it adds a bit of a lighter tone to the quite serious [name_m]Johannes[/name_m]. I don’t really have any associations with either name, which imo is a good thing, haha.
I really don’t think the J in [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] would cause serious problems. It’s clearly a variant of [name_m]Johann[/name_m] and people know how to say that. I think the problem would actually come from the ending. I think English speakers would tend to pronounce it as two syllables, like [name_f]Yo[/name_f]-hans, not [name_f]Yo[/name_f]-hah-ness. For this reason, [name_m]Johann[/name_m] might be a better option. [name_m]Hans[/name_m] works as a nn for both.
I think both [name_m]Johann[/name_m] and [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] are great names, really strong and beautiful.
I love this name as well! I don’t think it’s too problematic in the US, most people are familiar with this name.
I like it, but would not personally use a name that has prn or spelling issues.
[name_m]Johannes[/name_m]/[name_m]Hans[/name_m] has always seemed very stereotypically [name_m]German[/name_m] to me (oh, you want a [name_m]German[/name_m] name? Oh, what about [name_m]Johannes[/name_m]?). I feel the same way about [name_f]Carys[/name_f] and Welsh names, lol. I just find using it rather uninventive, if that makes sense, but just thinking about it has me admiring it, which I’ve never really done before. What’s the proper [name_m]German[/name_m] pronunciation, yoh-HAHN-es? Or just yoh-HAHNZ? Or even just yoh-HAHN? I knew a kid with the last pronunciation, but I’m not sure how his name was spelled ([name_m]Johan[/name_m], I think). I like that [name_m]Hans[/name_m] now reminds me of [name_m]Hans[/name_m] Hubermann from The Book Thief, and also [name_m]Hans[/name_m] Schultz from [name_m]Hogan[/name_m]‘s Heroes (who was totally my favorite! My mom made me sit through one [name_m]Hogan[/name_m]‘s Heroes episode in high school, and we were hooked ever since!). The more I think of it, the more I like it. I’m not sure how it would work in [name_u]America[/name_u]? I live in a heavy [name_m]German[/name_m] area of the US, so I am not sure most people here would bat an eye at the “Y” sound instead of a “J” sound thing, but I’m not sure how it’d be elsewhere. I think it’s super handsome, and I’d love to see this, and several other international names, on your boys’ list! 
I fell in love with a lot of names that were popular in Germany in the 1980s, so now I’m not sure what to do with them all, lol ([name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], [name_u]Florian[/name_u], [name_m]Pascal[/name_m], [name_m]Benedikt[/name_m], [name_m]Andreas[/name_m], [name_m]Caspar[/name_m]/[name_m]Kaspar[/name_m], etc.; why are these not more popular in the US?!). I love seeing foreign names on peoples’ lists, though, and I think [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] nn [name_m]Hans[/name_m] is pretty cool.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! I have to agree that [name_m]Hans[/name_m] is not as strong on its own, that’s why I’d only use it as a nickname. @ash It’s yo-hahn-ess. Oh gosh, I love [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], [name_m]Andreas[/name_m] and [name_m]Kaspar[/name_m]! [name_m]Kaspar[/name_m] is a weird one for me to like as I’m usually not fond of names that start with K, but I think it’s the Dutch spelling, right? There are just so many gems out there.
I do like [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] but it sounds a tiny bit awkward when I say it in English, due to the -hannes part. I think might prefer just [name_m]Johann[/name_m] (in English).
[name_m]Johannes[/name_m] is usable, most adults should know how to say it, and I knew a [name_m]Hans[/name_m] in school, His brother was Hollyn, more people made fun of that. I am from an area with a large [name_m]German[/name_m] heritage, so [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] and [name_m]Hans[/name_m] aren’t really a strech.
I love both the name and the nickname.
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f] is on my list as a family honor name, and I am iffy about it because of pronunciation, but I think [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] might have less trouble, if only because the [name_m]Joe[/name_m]-hannah pronunciation is also used as a name in [name_u]America[/name_u] and [name_m]Johannes[/name_m] is little-used in general, so people wouldn’t have a previous misconception.
I’m not sure which is the traditional [name_m]German[/name_m] spelling. I know [name_m]Caspar[/name_m] is the [name_m]French[/name_m], [name_m]Casper[/name_m] is the English, and I think [name_m]Kasper[/name_m] is the Danish/Dutch, and [name_m]Kaspar[/name_m] is the [name_m]German[/name_m], but I’ve seen [name_m]Casper[/name_m] in [name_m]German[/name_m], too, I think? There are so many spelling variations, but [name_m]Caspar[/name_m] is the one on my own list.