John
Hebrew Yochanan, “Yahweh is gracious,” which reached English through Latin Iohannes.
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Baptist and the Evangelist made it the default boys' name of the Christian world for centuries, a dominance the early American records show plainly.
John appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1880 to 2025. It has been the single most popular name for American boys in 44 different years, first in 1880 and most recently in 1923. Its biggest year was 1947, when 88,324 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 3 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1880, at No. 1. In 2025 it ranked No. 23 for boys. All told, 5,204,377 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Jon (169,391), Jone (711), Joon (564), Jonn (537) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Jack, Janet, Joan, Jean, Sean, Jane, Juan, Shawn
Explore John interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 89,949 | No. 1 |
| 1890s | 80,664 | No. 1 |
| 1900s | 84,590 | No. 1 |
| 1910s | 376,311 | No. 1 |
| 1920s | 564,052 | No. 1 |
| 1930s | 487,950 | No. 3 |
| 1940s | 711,614 | No. 3 |
| 1950s | 797,922 | No. 3 |
| 1960s | 713,394 | No. 2 |
| 1970s | 402,612 | No. 4 |
| 1980s | 321,150 | No. 8 |
| 1990s | 240,151 | No. 10 |
| 2000s | 161,104 | No. 14 |
| 2010s | 102,800 | No. 26 |
| 2020s | 48,370 | No. 21 |
Births and rank shown for boys, 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.