Joan
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Joan
Joan was the perfect name choice for one of the leading characters on Mad Men, being a quintessential girls' name of the period. A Top 10 name in the 30s, a Top 50 name from the 40s through the early 60s, it was the fifth most popular name in the country for three years running and ranks as one of the most common names for girls in the 20th century. But alas, Joan hasn't even appeared in the Top 1000 for a dozen years, and these days it's primarily associated with Joans of the generation of Joan Crawford, Joan Collins and Joan Rivers--just a few of the noted Joans whose ranks also include the singers Joan Sutherland, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading and Joan Jett. But it's possible that modern parents who are reviving Jane might move on to Joan, inspired by Joan Hollaway Harris.
Joan for girls#1087 US
The first English bearer of the name was Henry II's daughter, Jhone, but the modern spelling was soon established, which is why Saint Jeanne d'Arc was translated as Joan, making her the most illustrious wearer of the name. By Shakespeare's time, Joan had become so overused that it was ripe for replacement by the newly coined Jane, the reverse of what happened in twentieth-century America.
Some livelier foreign versions of Joan include Giovanna, Siobhan, Ione and Juana.
Joan for boys#987 US
There are now more boys than girls given the name Joan each year in the US, although the two are distinct names. The masculine version, pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, is among the top names in Spain.
Pronounced JO-un.
As of October 2026, Joan ranked #1087 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #5 in 1931, Nameberry popularity #673.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,430 | 75 | #1,220 | 150 |
| 2015 | #2,001 | 99 | #1,127 | 170 |
| 2016 | #1,845 | 112 | #1,052 | 188 |
| 2017 | #1,679 | 128 | #1,117 | 172 |
| 2018 | #1,744 | 118 | #1,103 | 178 |
| 2019 | #1,590 | 134 | #1,174 | 165 |
| 2020 | #1,545 | 137 | #1,135 | 172 |
| 2021 | #1,387 | 158 | #1,112 | 185 |
| 2022 | #1,412 | 161 | #1,087 | 201 |
| 2023 | #1,365 | 165 | #1,079 | 200 |
| 2024 | #1,238 | 188 | #1,013 | 220 |
| 2025 | #1,087 | 222 | #987 | 232 |
World rankings
Joan for girls
Joan for boys
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Joan on lists
Famous Joans
- Saint Joan of ArcGirl
French national heroine
- JoanGirl
Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon
- Joan of KentGirl
"The Fair Maid of Kent," Princess of Wales
- Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur)Girl
American actress
- Joan FontaineGirl
American actress
- Joan Ann PlowrightGirl
Baroness Olivier, English actress
- Joan Alexandra RiversGirl
American comedienne
- Joan Marie JettGirl
American musician, lead singer of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- Joan DidionGirl
American author
- Joan Ganz CooneyGirl
American TV producer; creator of Sesame Street
- Joan Anita Barbara ArmatradingGirl
Kittitian,British singer
- Joan Chandos BaezGirl
American singer,songwriter
- Joan Henrietta CollinsGirl
English actress and novelist
- Joan AllenGirl
American actress
- Joan CusackGirl
American actress
- Joan Alston SutherlandGirl
Australian operatic soprano
- Melissa Joan HartGirl
American actress
- Joan Smalls (Rodriguez)Girl
Puerto Rican supermodel
- Joan Letitia LaCockGirl
birth name of American actress Joanne Dru
- Joan Benoit SamuelsonGirl
American Olympic marathoner
- (Beatrice) Joan CaulfieldGirl
American actress
- Joan Bogle HicksonGirl
English actress
- Joan Alison Turner JaraGirl
British,Chilean dancer, widow of dancer Victor Jara
- (Virginia) Joan Bennett KennedyGirl
wife of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy
- Joan Marie Laurer aka ChynaGirl
American pro wrestler and actress
- Joan LindsayGirl
Lady Lindsay, Australian novelist
- Joan OrensteinGirl
British,Canadian actress
- Joan BeaufortGirl
Countess of Westmorland
- Joan Olivia WyndhamGirl
English memoirist
- Joan ClarkeGirl
British cryptanalyst and numismatist
- Joan ShakespeareGirl
sister of William Shakespeare
- Joan Taylor (born Rose Marie Emma)Girl
American actress
- Joan VollmerGirl
the most prominent female member of the early Beat Generation circle
- Joan Delano AikenGirl
English author of supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels, and daughter of Pulitzer Prize,winning author Conrad Aiken
- Joan of AcreGirl
Medieval English princess, she secretly remarried below her status for love and was known for her independent nature
- Joan MiróBoy
Spanish Catalan surrealist painter
- Joan CapdevilaBoy
Catalan footballer
- Joan Cornellà (born 1981)Boy
Catalan cartoonist and illustrator
- Joan Daemen (born 1965)Boy
Belgian cryptographer and inventor of Rijndael
- Joan GamperBoy
Swiss,born Catalan footballer; founder of FC Barcelona
- Joan GaspartBoy
Catalan businessman and president of FC Barcelona
- Joan LaportaBoy
Catalan lawyer and president of FC Barcelona
- Joan LlanerasBoy
Spanish track cyclist
- Joan Martorell (1833–1906)Boy
Catalan architect
- Joan Mir (born 1997)Boy
Spanish motorcycle racer
- Joan Ribó (born 1947)Boy
Spanish politician
- Joan Sebastian (1951Boy
2015), Mexican vocalist
- Joan Manuel SerratBoy
Catalan and Spanish song,writer
- Joan Verdú (born 1983)Boy
Catalan footballer
- Joan Voûte (1879–1963)Boy
Dutch astronomer
Joan in pop culture
- JoanGirl
mythical female pope
- Joan Holloway HarrisGirl
character on TV's "Mad Men"
- Joan CallamezzoGirl
character on TV's "Parks and Recreation"
- Joan CampbellGirl
character on TV's "Covert Affairs"
- Joan WatsonGirl
character on TV's "Elementary"
- Joan LelandGirl
character in DC Universe
- JoanGirl
character in movie "The Way Way Back"
- Joan GirardiGirl
main character on TV's "Joan of Arcadia"
- "Little Jumping JoanGirl
" nursery rhyme
- JoanGirl
character in the graphic novel/musical "Fun Home"
- Joan TerryGirl
character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
- Joan MillarGirl
character on TV's "Love Child"
- Joan LawsonGirl
mother on “Small Wonder”
- Joan of ArcGirl
character in series “Clone High”