John

“God is gracious” — Hebrew via Greek, Latin, and Old French origin

Boy's name · #23 in the US (2025) · Timeless

John has held steady since 1880, standing at #23 in 2025. It has spent 44 years as America's #1 name. John's short forms are Jack, Johnny, and Johnnie. About 8,900 boys a year are given Jack as their full name. Popular twin pairings with John include James and Joseph for boys, and Emma, Grace, and Ava for girls.

Around the world: #29 in Ireland (2025) · #67 in N. Ireland (2025) · #73 in Canada (2024) · #89 in New Zealand (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Johns

John F. Kennedy — president of the United States from 1961 to 1963 (1917–1963)
John Locke — English philosopher and physician (1632-1704)
John Paul II — 264th pope of the Catholic Church (1978–2005)
John Adams — Founding Father, U.S. president from 1797 to 1801
John Maynard Keynes — British economist (1883–1946)

In stories & tradition

John the Apostle — Gospel of Matthew · Gospel of Mark
John (Tarzan) — Tarzan · Tarzan and the Lion Man
John (Dr. Watson) — canon of Sherlock Holmes · Sherlockiana

What Johns become

Among 66,490 notable people named John:

Military figures appear 2.22× more often than among typical names — e.g. John J. Pershing, United States Army general in World War I.

Similar names: Jonah · Thomas · Joseph · William · James · Charles

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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