US Name Trends

Johnny

A pet form of John, Hebrew for “Yahweh is gracious.”

1947peak year
No. 45best rank (1944)
321,696babies since 1880
No. 457rank in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Johnny per year — peak 7,441▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Johnny 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 1932 to 1977. Its biggest year was 1947, when 7,441 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 49 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1944, at No. 45. In 2025 it ranked No. 457 for boys. All told, 321,696 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Johnnie (151,295), Joni (29,502), Johnie (26,074), Jonnie (9,061), Johny (3,597), Jonny (3,532) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: John

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s194No. 299
1890s316No. 289
1900s814No. 190
1910s3,834No. 173
1920s11,342No. 113
1930s24,596No. 62
1940s57,200No. 45
1950s65,786No. 50
1960s49,843No. 65
1970s32,024No. 65
1980s23,503No. 113
1990s18,488No. 130
2000s14,321No. 225
2010s11,259No. 267
2020s4,398No. 387

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.