Boy · Hebrew, through Greek
John
Say it: JON
Meaning
Hebrew Yoḥanan, 'YHWH is gracious', through Greek Iōannēs.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
The most common male name in England from the 13th century to the 20th, and widespread across all of Christian Europe.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 5,163,958 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1880, about 1 in 11 boys
- 8,189 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
HebrewEarly ChristianEnglishAmericanFrenchSpanishItalianPortugueseGermanPolishIrishScottishWelshDutchRussian
The family of the name
Other spellings: Jon, Johan, Jan
| French | Jean |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Juan |
| Italian | Giovanni |
| Portuguese | João |
| German | Johann |
| Polish | Jan |
| Russian | Ivan |
| Irish | Seán |
Famous bearers
- John the Baptist
- John the Apostle
- John Calvin, Protestant reformer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Royal and noble genealogies
- Parish baptism registers
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.