John

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

John is a very common given male name in the English language, ultimately of Hebrew origin. The English form is from Middle English Ioon, Ihon, Iohn, Jan, itself from Old French Jan, Jean, Jehan, from Medieval Latin Johannes, an altered form of Late Latin Ioannes.

From Wikipedia

John first appears in the data in 1952 and has been recorded in 69 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1961 with 2,328 babies (rank #5 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of John

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of John yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

2Destiny numberThe peacemakerDiplomatic, sensitive, partnership-minded.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
6Soul urgeThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
5PersonalityThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

60,540

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

2,328

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Bible: John the Baptist; John the Evangelist
In Sherlock Holmes: Dr John Watson — Holmes' friend and chronicler
In Little Women: John Brooke — Meg's husband
In Peaky Blinders: John Shelby — the middle brother
In Yellowstone: John Dutton — the patriarch

Famous people named John

John F. Kennedyanti-communist · b. 1917
John Lockephilosopher of law · b. 1632
John Adamspolitical philosopher · b. 1735
John Maynard Keynesnon-fiction writer · b. 1883
John Lennonpop singer · b. 1940

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with J

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1952	2,205	#1
1953	2,148	#1
1954	1,993	#2
1955	1,838	#2
1956	1,780	#2
1957	1,762	#2
1958	1,701	#2
1959	1,633	#5
1960	2,312	#5
1961	2,328	#5
1962	2,275	#5
1963	2,153	#5
1964	2,107	#5
1965	2,052	#5
1966	1,858	#6
1967	1,831	#6
1968	1,727	#7
1969	1,651	#7
1970	1,539	#8
1971	1,477	#9
1972	1,264	#13
1973	1,055	#14
1974	998	#15
1975	862	#16
1976	751	#19
1977	772	#19
1978	807	#17
1979	775	#20
1980	756	#20
1981	816	#19
1982	823	#19
1983	832	#19
1984	729	#22
1985	712	#21
1986	644	#24
1987	582	#26
1988	605	#25
1989	546	#25
1990	567	#23
1991	488	#31
1992	511	#31
1993	466	#33
1994	413	#41
1995	380	#42
1996	379	#43
1997	344	#46
1998	285	#54
1999	298	#50
2000	290	#54
2001	253	#57
2002	224	#62
2003	223	#62
2004	204	#66
2005	185	#79
2006	130	#80
2007	145	#65
2008	121	#93
2009	111	#98
2010	74	#107
2011	126	#97
2012	122	#96
2013	181	#91
2014	131	#95
2015	345	#99
2016	428	#91
2017	121	#107
2019	161	#108
2020	74	#119
2024	61	#127