The meaning of the name “John” is: “God is gracious”.
Additional information: The name John comes from the Latin Ioannes, which in turn came from the Greek ‘Ἰωάννης’ (Ioannes), which was rooted in the Hebrew Yohanan or Yehohanan, meaning ‘Graced by God’ and ‘God is Gracious’ respectively. John was the name of many biblical features, the most well known of these being John the Baptist and the author of the Gospel of John, and because of this John (and other biblical names such as Matthew, Mark, and Luke) was a very popular name in English speaking Christian countries for centuries, especially after the First Crusade. John can be used as a nickname for Jonathan, but it is a given name in its own right with its own diminutives and variants, including Jon, Johnny and Johnnie. The most well known feminine form of John is Joan, but others are Johanna, Jo, and Jean. Common misspellings are ‘Jhon’ and ‘Jonh’.
After centuries of popularity, however, the name John has been steadily decreasing in popularity since the 1920s, falling from the most popular name for boys to 26th most popular in 2014, with similar decreases in popularity around the world. The name John fell out of the top 100 names for boys in England and Wales in 2011, falling further to the 107th most popular name in 2013. Because of its roots in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, John has a lot of foreign spellings, including Hans (German), Juan (Spanish), Sean (Irish), and Ian (Scottish).
Celebrities named John include John F. Kennedy (President of the United States of America), John Travolta (American actor), and Johnny Depp (American actor, born John Christopher Depp).
John has, curiously, been the name of several ill-fated members of the British royal family – King John is still subject to villainous portrayals today, despite having died in 1216, and a number of princes named or nicknamed John died young.
The first thing you should know if you are considering John for your baby's name is that in most countries all over the world the name John is a boy name.
The name John is of Hebrew origin, and is used in more than one countries and different languages of the world, especially English speaking countries, Hebrew speaking countries among others.
If you consider naming your baby John we recommend you take note of the special meaning and history of the name as your baby’s name will play a big role in its life and your baby will hear it spoken every day. Searching for a name is a very important and fun process as it’s the very first gift you will give to your baby. Many people believe that the name can affect success in life, through their children's working career and other circumstances, so they choose more “respectable” names or name meanings as they believe that the name meaning reflects the personality of the child.
John Name Meaning
The meaning of John is “God is gracious”. Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages, so be careful that the name that you choose doesn’t mean something bad or unpleasant. Search comprehensively and find the name meaning of John and its name origin or of any other name in our database. Also note the spelling and the pronunciation of the name John and check the initials of the name with your last name to discover how it looks and sounds. The history and meaning of the name John is fascinating, learn more about it. (If you know more meanings of the name and you would like to contribute click here to submit another name meaning).
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Name John Categories
The name John is in the following categories: American Names, Australian Names, Biblical Names, British Names, Canadian Names, Christian Names, Classic Names, English Names, Harry Potter Names, Hebrew Names, Jewish Names, Middle Names, Pirate Names, President Names. (If you would like to suggest one or more categories for the name, click here). We have plenty of different baby name categories to search for special meanings plus popular and unique names, search our database before choosing but also note that baby name categories designed to help you and not to be an influential factor when choosing a name. Instead, we recommend that you pay a greater attention to the origin and meaning of the name John. Read our baby name articles for useful tips regarding baby names and naming your baby. If you are thinking of giving your baby the beautiful name John, spread the love and share this with your friends.
Popularity of the Name John
Below you will find the popularity of the baby name John displayed annually, from 1880 to the present day in our name popularity chart. Hover over or click on the dots that represent a year to see how many babies were given the name for that year, for both genders, if available.
John Boy Name Popularity Chart
John Girl Name Popularity Chart
Note:The data above is from the Social Security Administrator of United States, (more info here) from Social Security card applications for births in US for every name, from 1880 up to the present year. The gender associated with the name might be incorrect, as the data presents the record applications without being edited for errors. The name's popularity and ranking is announced annually, so the data for this year will not be available until next year. The more babies that are given a name, the higher popularity ranking the name receives. For names with the same popularity, the tie is solved by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. This means that if two or more names have the same popularity their rankings may differ significantly, as they are set in alphabetical order. If a name has less than five occurrences, the SSA excludes it from the provided data to protect privacy.
If you’re not sure yet, see our wide selection of both boy names and girl names all over the world to find the ideal name for your new born baby. We offer a comprehensive and meaningful list of popular names and cool names along with the name's origin, meaning, pronunciation, popularity and additional information.
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Do your research and choose a name wisely, kindly and selflessly.
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