US Name Trends

Joan

The medieval English feminine of John, from Old French Jehanne.

1932peak year
No. 5best rank (1931)
488,939babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Joan per year — peak 21,044▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

The medieval feminine of John, borne by Joan of Arc; Joan Crawford presided over its 1930s heyday.

Joan appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1924 to 1964. It spent 9 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1932, when 21,044 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 5 nationally. All told, 488,939 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Joanne (212,474), Joann (157,456), Johan (14,788), Johann (5,519), Johanne (1,452), Joeann (1,283) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: John

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s121No. 492
1890s267No. 479
1900s863No. 302
1910s7,021No. 160
1920s45,351No. 13
1930s173,439No. 5
1940s117,708No. 14
1950s85,179No. 37
1960s36,676No. 80
1970s6,480No. 240
1980s3,300No. 490
1990s1,858No. 761
2000s1,003No. 1217
2010s941No. 1585
2020s1,031No. 1085

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.