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John

OriginHebrew
Meaning"God is gracious"
GenderBoy & girl
US rank · boys#23

2025 SSA

US rank · girls#13974

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 for boys#23 US

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.

John for girls#13974 US

As popular as James may be getting as a girls' middle name, we don't see John finding the same favor. There were five baby girls named John last year, with 33 named Johnnie,17 named Johnna, and eight called Johnni.

Johnnie is the only one we can see becoming much more popular for girls, along with trending Boy Nicknames for Girls names such as Frankie and Stevie.

Pronounced JON.

As of October 2026, John ranked #23 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 1893, Nameberry popularity #55.

World rankings

Similar names

These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like John.

John on lists

Famous Johns

  • John "Johnny" Christopher Depp IIBoy

    American actor

  • John "Jack" Christopher Depp IIIBoy

    son of Johnny Depp

  • Saint John the BaptistBoy

    cousin of Jesus

  • John IBoy

    VIII, Byzantine emperors

  • John IBoy

    XXIII, popes

  • John Paul I and IIBoy

    popes

  • JohnBoy

    King of England

  • John BalliolBoy

    King of Scotland

  • John MiltonBoy

    English poet

  • John HancockBoy

    American revolutionary

  • Lt. Col. John LaurensBoy

    American revolutionary and abolitionist

  • John AdamsBoy

    2nd U.S. president

  • John WesleyBoy

    English founder of Methodism

  • John Quincy AdamsBoy

    6th U.S. president

  • John TylerBoy

    10th U.S. president

  • John Fitzgerald KennedyBoy

    35th U.S. president

  • John WycliffeBoy

    Morning Star of the Reformation

  • John SmithBoy

    English settler of North America

  • John LockeBoy

    English political philosopher

  • John Davison RockefellerBoy

    American business magnate

  • John LounsberyBoy

    American animator

  • John Jacob "Jack" Astor IVBoy

    an American business mogaul; richest person to die on the Titanic

  • John Sidney (Blyth) BarrymoreBoy

    American actor

  • John Wayne (born Marion Robert Morrison)Boy

    American actor

  • John GlennBoy

    American astronaut and politician

  • John MajorBoy

    Prime Minister of the U.K.

  • John CleeseBoy

    English actor and comedian

  • John Winston LennonBoy

    English musician of The Beatles

  • John R. "Johnny" CashBoy

    American country music singer

  • John Joseph TravoltaBoy

    American actor and singer

  • John RhysBoy

    Davies, Welsh actor

  • JohnBoy

    King of Denmark

  • John I and IIBoy

    Kings of Hungary

  • John DonneBoy

    English poet

  • John KeatsBoy

    English poet

  • John Hoyer UpdikeBoy

    American novelist

  • John Scot BarrowmanBoy

    Scottish,American actor

  • John Adam BelushiBoy

    American actor/comedian

  • John Michael GreenBoy

    American novelist

  • John Clayton MayerBoy

    American singer,songwriter

  • John Alec EntwhistleBoy

    bassist of English band The Who

  • (Arthur) John GielgudBoy

    English actor

  • John Foster DullesBoy

    U.S. Secretary of State

  • John William OliverBoy

    English comedian and TV personality

  • John Michael TurturroBoy

    American actor

  • John Edmund Andrew PhillipsBoy

    lead singer of American band The Mamas and the Papas

  • John Christopher ReillyBoy

    American actor

  • John (Cougar) MellencampBoy

    American singer

  • John DolmayanBoy

    Armenian,American drummer for band System of a Down

  • John Carter HensleyBoy

    American actor

  • John Joseph Edward "Jack" CassidyBoy

    American actor

  • Jonathan Southworth "John" RitterBoy

    American actor

  • John Singer SargentBoy

    American painter

  • John Cummings aka Johnny RamoneBoy

    guitarist of American band The Ramones

  • John Paul Henry Daniel Richard GrimesBoy

    of Irish twin duo "Jedward"

  • John Richard DeaconBoy

    bassist for English band Queen

  • John Paul CusackBoy

    American actor

  • John YoungBoy

    American astronaut

  • John FranklinBoy

    English Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic

  • John Marcellus HustonBoy

    American film director

  • (Nigel) John TaylorBoy

    bassist for English band Duran Duran

  • John William OatesBoy

    musician of American duo Hall & Oates

  • John Mark "Johnny" GaleckiBoy

    American actor

  • John Ross BowieBoy

    American actor

  • John Phillip StamosBoy

    American actor/musician

  • John Patrick "Jack" DouglassBoy

    American comedy vlogger

  • John Wesley ShippBoy

    American actor

  • John "Barney" Yazici aka ThatGuyBarneyBoy

    Turkish,American YouTuber

  • JohnBoy

    David Duggar(b.1990), 3rd child (2nd son) of reality TV's Duggar family. Twin brother of Jana Marie

  • John Owen LoweBoy

    son of American actor Rob Lowe

  • John Aether Ramirez LandBoy

    son of Dania Ramirez & John Land

  • John David Linch (b. 2007)Boy

    son of American legal commentator and television host Nancy Grace

  • John Phillips (b. 2009)Boy

    son of American actress Julie Bowen

  • John "Rocco" Falconetti (b. 2009)Boy

    son of former artistic gymnast Shannon Miller

  • John Nash Chatham (b. 2014)Boy

    son of American actor Wes Chatham and American sports broadcaster Jenn Brown

  • John Willard "Bill" MarriottBoy

    Sr., founder of Marriott International

  • John Sidney McCain IIIBoy

    American politician, senior US Senator from Arizona

  • John BrooksBoy

    American author, activist and blogger devoted to raising awareness of suicide and a barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge

  • John VerhoekBoy

    Dutch footballer

  • Prince John Charles Francis of the United KingdomBoy

    fifth and youngest son of George V and Mary of Teck

  • John LedinBoy

    Swedish guitarist, son of Swedish musician Tomas actor

  • John Burke KrasinskiBoy

    American actor

  • John CandyBoy

    late Canadian actor & comedian

  • John LithgowBoy

    American Actor

  • John GoodmanBoy

    American Actor

  • John Ronald Reuel "J.R.R." TolkienBoy

    English writer , author of The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings, The Silmarillion

John in pop culture

  • John ConnorBoy

    character in The Terminator series

  • 1Boy

    2, &3 John, epistles in the New Testament

  • John CoffeyBoy

    character in "The Green Mile" novel/movie

  • John TrentBoy

    character in "In the Mouth of Madness"

  • John WinchesterBoy

    character on TV's "Supernatural"

  • John BenderBoy

    character in "The Breakfast Club"

  • John Hamish WatsonBoy

    character in the Sherlock Holmes series

  • Dr. John Montague/MarkwayBoy

    character in "The Haunting of Hill House"

  • John SmithBoy

    character in "I Am Number Four" series

  • John SmithBoy

    main character in 'The Dead Zone' series

  • John SmithBoy

    alias of the Doctor on TV's Doctor Who

  • John Ross Ewing IBoy

    II, and III, characters on TV's "Dallas"

  • John NelsonBoy

    character in video game "The Sims"

  • John "Johnny" BurbBoy

    character in video game "The Sims"

  • John KennishBoy

    character on TV's "Switched at Birth"

  • John BennettBoy

    character on TV's "Orange is the New Black"

  • John SheppardBoy

    character on TV's "Stargate: Atlantis"

  • John CrichtonBoy

    character on TV's "Farscape"

  • JohnBoy

    fourth book in the New Testament

  • John HaydenBoy

    Character in "Abandon" series by Meg Cabot

  • JohnBoy

    main character in G. A. Henty's, For the Temple

  • John BeckerBoy

    character on TV's "Becker"

  • John ClaskyBoy

    character in movie "Spanglish"

  • John EgbertBoy

    character in webcomic Homestuck

  • John BennettBoy

    character on TV's "Alphas"

  • John BrookeBoy

    character in the Little Women series

  • John 'Demi' Brooke JrBoy

    character in the Little Women series

  • John James RamboBoy

    main character in "Rambo" series

  • John MastersBoy

    character from Star of Babylon by Barbara Wood

  • John DeeBoy

    main character in the "Kronos Chronicles"

  • John the SavageBoy

    character in "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

  • John McBainBoy

    character on American soaps "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital"

  • John LockeBoy

    character on TV's "Lost"

  • Little JohnBoy

    one of Robin Hood's Merry Men

  • John MonadBoy

    character on TV's "John from Cincinnati"

  • John WhitefootBoy

    character in G. A. Henty's, Orange and Green

  • John GageBoy

    a character on TV's "Emergency!"

  • John TownsendBoy

    character in "Yesterday's child" by Barbara Wood

  • John ReeseBoy

    character on TV's "Person of Interest"

  • John MooreBoy

    character in "The Alienist"

  • Red JohnBoy

    villain on TV's "The Mentalist"

  • John Glenn TracyBoy

    character from The Thunderbirds series

  • John SwansonBoy

    son of Ron Swanson and Diane Lewis on TV's Parks and Recreation

  • Dr. John "JD" DorianBoy

    character on the TV show "Scrubs"

  • Dr. John CarterBoy

    character from TV show "ER"

  • John Andrew Diggle aka SpartanBoy

    character on TV's "Arrow"

  • John ReedBoy

    a character from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre"

  • John "Pyro" AllerdyceBoy

    character from X,men comics

  • John Proudstar aka ThunderbirdBoy

    character from X,men comics

  • John WilkesBoy

    character from "Gone with the Wind"

  • John JonesBoy

    also known as J'onn J'onzz and Martian Manhunter, character from DC Universe

  • John StewartBoy

    also known as The Green Lantern, character from DC Universe

  • John CorbenBoy

    also known as Metallo, character from DC Universe

  • John GraysonBoy

    character from DC Universe

  • John ConstantineBoy

    character from DC Universe

  • Dr. John Wade Prentice Jr. and his father John Prentice Sr.Boy

    characters from "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"

  • JohnBoy

    slang for a toilet

  • John KramerBoy

    main character in the SAW movie franchise, played by Tobin Bell

  • John MurphyBoy

    main character in the TV show "The 100"

  • John ProctorBoy

    a character in Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible."

  • John Michael ShelbyBoy

    character in bbc series Peaky blinders

  • John SturgisBoy

    College Physics professor on the TV series "Young Sheldon"

  • John LaMarrBoy

    character on TV series "The Orville"

  • John Thomas "J.T." LambertBoy

    character on ABC TGIF sitcom "Step by Step"

  • John HarrimanBoy

    Captain of the Enterprise,B in the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations"

  • John MunchBoy

    character on TV's "Law and Order: SVU" and "Homicide: Life on the Street"

  • John James "Jack" McCoyBoy

    character on "Law and Order"

  • John TyreeBoy

    character played by Channing Tatum in the movie "Dear John"

  • "King John and the Bishop"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Will Stewart and John"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Robin Hood and Little John"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Little John a Begging"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Sir John Butler"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Bonny John Seton"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "John Thomson and the Turk"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "John Dory"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "John of Hazelgreen"Boy

    A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"

  • "Dear John"Boy

    Song by Taylor Swift featured in "Speak Now"

Variations & nicknames

John in blog posts

Community discussions

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