John
2025 SSA
About John
John reigned as the most popular of all boys' Christian names for 400 years, from the time the first Crusaders carried it back to Britain until the 1950s. Then American baby namers finally seemed to tire of this straight-arrow, almost anonymous John Doe of names, replacing it with fancier forms like Jonathan and the imported Sean and Ian.
John is an English derivative of the Hebrew name Yochanan via the Latin name Iohannes, itself coming from the Greek Ioannes. John was a key name in early Christianity, borne by John the Baptist, John the Apostle and John the Evangelist, plus 84 saints and 23 popes, as well as kings and countless other illustrious notables. Contrary to popular belief, the names John and Jonathan are unrelated, the latter being an elaboration of Nathan.
Because many of today's baby Johns get their names for familial rather than stylistic reasons, John isn't as ubiquitous as it once was. For modern parents, the nickname Jack or an international form like Gianni feels much fresher. But John is still one of the Top 10 boy names starting with J of all time.
The international versions of John are perennial classics in their own cultures: the French Jean, the Irish Sean, the Scottish Ian, the Welsh Evan and Ewan, the Italian Giovanni, and Gianni the Spanish Juan, the German Johann/Johannes, the Slavic Jan, the Russian Ivan, and on and on.
Celebrities who have gone with the timeless John include Michelle Pfeiffer, Bono, Johnny Depp, Lauryn Hill, Bridget Moynahan, and Rob Lowe.
Jon may be an abbreviated spelling of John or a short form of Jonathan.
Pronounced JON.
As of October 2026, John ranked #23 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 1893, Nameberry popularity #55.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #26 | 10,699 | 5,569.9 |
| 2015 | #26 | 10,421 | 5,436.8 |
| 2016 | #28 | 10,055 | 5,298.4 |
| 2017 | #27 | 9,530 | 5,148.7 |
| 2018 | #26 | 9,198 | 5,064.5 |
| 2019 | #28 | 8,857 | 4,936.4 |
| 2020 | #27 | 8,262 | 4,786.6 |
| 2021 | #27 | 8,182 | 4,676.8 |
| 2022 | #26 | 7,993 | 4,577.9 |
| 2023 | #26 | 7,793 | 4,555.8 |
| 2024 | #21 | 8,047 | 4,670.6 |
| 2025 | #23 | 8,027 | 4,699.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like John.
- Robert
- Joseph
- Paul
- Timothy
- David
- Patrick
- Peter
- Christopher
- Richard
- Philip
- Charles
- Stephen
- Michael
- Edward
- Adam
- Jonathan
- Matthew
- Martin
- Andrew
- Mark
John on lists
Famous Johns
- John "Johnny" Christopher Depp II
American actor
- John "Jack" Christopher Depp III
son of Johnny Depp
- Saint John the Baptist
cousin of Jesus
- John I
VIII, Byzantine emperors
- John I
XXIII, popes
- John Paul I and II
popes
- John
King of England
- John Balliol
King of Scotland
- John Milton
English poet
- John Hancock
American revolutionary
- Lt. Col. John Laurens
American revolutionary and abolitionist
- John Adams
2nd U.S. president
- John Wesley
English founder of Methodism
- John Quincy Adams
6th U.S. president
- John Tyler
10th U.S. president
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th U.S. president
- John Wycliffe
Morning Star of the Reformation
- John Smith
English settler of North America
- John Locke
English political philosopher
- John Davison Rockefeller
American business magnate
- John Lounsbery
American animator
- John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV
an American business mogaul; richest person to die on the Titanic
- John Sidney (Blyth) Barrymore
American actor
- John Wayne (born Marion Robert Morrison)
American actor
- John Glenn
American astronaut and politician
- John Major
Prime Minister of the U.K.
- John Cleese
English actor and comedian
- John Winston Lennon
English musician of The Beatles
- John R. "Johnny" Cash
American country music singer
- John Joseph Travolta
American actor and singer
- John Rhys
Davies, Welsh actor
- John
King of Denmark
- John I and II
Kings of Hungary
- John Donne
English poet
- John Keats
English poet
- John Hoyer Updike
American novelist
- John Scot Barrowman
Scottish,American actor
- John Adam Belushi
American actor/comedian
- John Michael Green
American novelist
- John Clayton Mayer
American singer,songwriter
- John Alec Entwhistle
bassist of English band The Who
- (Arthur) John Gielgud
English actor
- John Foster Dulles
U.S. Secretary of State
- John William Oliver
English comedian and TV personality
- John Michael Turturro
American actor
- John Edmund Andrew Phillips
lead singer of American band The Mamas and the Papas
- John Christopher Reilly
American actor
- John (Cougar) Mellencamp
American singer
- John Dolmayan
Armenian,American drummer for band System of a Down
- John Carter Hensley
American actor
- John Joseph Edward "Jack" Cassidy
American actor
- Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter
American actor
- John Singer Sargent
American painter
- John Cummings aka Johnny Ramone
guitarist of American band The Ramones
- John Paul Henry Daniel Richard Grimes
of Irish twin duo "Jedward"
- John Richard Deacon
bassist for English band Queen
- John Paul Cusack
American actor
- John Young
American astronaut
- John Franklin
English Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic
- John Marcellus Huston
American film director
- (Nigel) John Taylor
bassist for English band Duran Duran
- John William Oates
musician of American duo Hall & Oates
- John Mark "Johnny" Galecki
American actor
- John Ross Bowie
American actor
- John Phillip Stamos
American actor/musician
- John Patrick "Jack" Douglass
American comedy vlogger
- John Wesley Shipp
American actor
- John "Barney" Yazici aka ThatGuyBarney
Turkish,American YouTuber
- John
David Duggar(b.1990), 3rd child (2nd son) of reality TV's Duggar family. Twin brother of Jana Marie
- John Owen Lowe
son of American actor Rob Lowe
- John Aether Ramirez Land
son of Dania Ramirez & John Land
- John David Linch (b. 2007)
son of American legal commentator and television host Nancy Grace
- John Phillips (b. 2009)
son of American actress Julie Bowen
- John "Rocco" Falconetti (b. 2009)
son of former artistic gymnast Shannon Miller
- John Nash Chatham (b. 2014)
son of American actor Wes Chatham and American sports broadcaster Jenn Brown
- John Willard "Bill" Marriott
Sr., founder of Marriott International
- John Sidney McCain III
American politician, senior US Senator from Arizona
- John Brooks
American author, activist and blogger devoted to raising awareness of suicide and a barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge
- John Verhoek
Dutch footballer
- Prince John Charles Francis of the United Kingdom
fifth and youngest son of George V and Mary of Teck
- John Ledin
Swedish guitarist, son of Swedish musician Tomas actor
- John Burke Krasinski
American actor
- John Candy
late Canadian actor & comedian
- John Lithgow
American Actor
- John Goodman
American Actor
- John Ronald Reuel "J.R.R." Tolkien
English writer , author of The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings, The Silmarillion
John in pop culture
- John Connor
character in The Terminator series
- 1
2, &3 John, epistles in the New Testament
- John Coffey
character in "The Green Mile" novel/movie
- John Trent
character in "In the Mouth of Madness"
- John Winchester
character on TV's "Supernatural"
- John Bender
character in "The Breakfast Club"
- John Hamish Watson
character in the Sherlock Holmes series
- Dr. John Montague/Markway
character in "The Haunting of Hill House"
- John Smith
character in "I Am Number Four" series
- John Smith
main character in 'The Dead Zone' series
- John Smith
alias of the Doctor on TV's Doctor Who
- John Ross Ewing I
II, and III, characters on TV's "Dallas"
- John Nelson
character in video game "The Sims"
- John "Johnny" Burb
character in video game "The Sims"
- John Kennish
character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
- John Bennett
character on TV's "Orange is the New Black"
- John Sheppard
character on TV's "Stargate: Atlantis"
- John Crichton
character on TV's "Farscape"
- John
fourth book in the New Testament
- John Hayden
Character in "Abandon" series by Meg Cabot
- John
main character in G. A. Henty's, For the Temple
- John Becker
character on TV's "Becker"
- John Clasky
character in movie "Spanglish"
- John Egbert
character in webcomic Homestuck
- John Bennett
character on TV's "Alphas"
- John Brooke
character in the Little Women series
- John 'Demi' Brooke Jr
character in the Little Women series
- John James Rambo
main character in "Rambo" series
- John Masters
character from Star of Babylon by Barbara Wood
- John Dee
main character in the "Kronos Chronicles"
- John the Savage
character in "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
- John McBain
character on American soaps "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital"
- John Locke
character on TV's "Lost"
- Little John
one of Robin Hood's Merry Men
- John Monad
character on TV's "John from Cincinnati"
- John Whitefoot
character in G. A. Henty's, Orange and Green
- John Gage
a character on TV's "Emergency!"
- John Townsend
character in "Yesterday's child" by Barbara Wood
- John Reese
character on TV's "Person of Interest"
- John Moore
character in "The Alienist"
- Red John
villain on TV's "The Mentalist"
- John Glenn Tracy
character from The Thunderbirds series
- John Swanson
son of Ron Swanson and Diane Lewis on TV's Parks and Recreation
- Dr. John "JD" Dorian
character on the TV show "Scrubs"
- Dr. John Carter
character from TV show "ER"
- John Andrew Diggle aka Spartan
character on TV's "Arrow"
- John Reed
a character from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre"
- John "Pyro" Allerdyce
character from X,men comics
- John Proudstar aka Thunderbird
character from X,men comics
- John Wilkes
character from "Gone with the Wind"
- John Jones
also known as J'onn J'onzz and Martian Manhunter, character from DC Universe
- John Stewart
also known as The Green Lantern, character from DC Universe
- John Corben
also known as Metallo, character from DC Universe
- John Grayson
character from DC Universe
- John Constantine
character from DC Universe
- Dr. John Wade Prentice Jr. and his father John Prentice Sr.
characters from "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
- John
slang for a toilet
- John Kramer
main character in the SAW movie franchise, played by Tobin Bell
- John Murphy
main character in the TV show "The 100"
- John Proctor
a character in Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible."
- John Michael Shelby
character in bbc series Peaky blinders
- John Sturgis
College Physics professor on the TV series "Young Sheldon"
- John LaMarr
character on TV series "The Orville"
- John Thomas "J.T." Lambert
character on ABC TGIF sitcom "Step by Step"
- John Harriman
Captain of the Enterprise,B in the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations"
- John Munch
character on TV's "Law and Order: SVU" and "Homicide: Life on the Street"
- John James "Jack" McCoy
character on "Law and Order"
- John Tyree
character played by Channing Tatum in the movie "Dear John"
- "King John and the Bishop"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Will Stewart and John"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Robin Hood and Little John"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Little John a Begging"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Sir John Butler"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Bonny John Seton"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "John Thomson and the Turk"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "John Dory"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "John of Hazelgreen"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Dear John"
Song by Taylor Swift featured in "Speak Now"