A famous bearer was the Cuban-French writer Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), known for her diaries.
This name was later borne by several early saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Besançon. It is also the name of the primary antagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet (1600).
Famous bearers include the uncrowned English queen Lady Jane Grey (1536-1554), who ruled for only nine days, British novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817), who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, British primatologist Jane Goodall (1934-), and American actress Jane Fonda (1937-). This is also the name of the central character in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847), which tells of Jane's sad childhood and her relationship with Edward Rochester.
As an English name, it became popular due to the Fleetwood Mac song Rhiannon (1976), especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.