John
Featured in baby name books
John is a Hebrew name meaning “God is gracious” or “God is good,” with forms across Europe such as Juan, Jean, Johann, and Sean. John was a top-five name for centuries until 1980; it remains sturdy and authoritative, evoking leaders like John Kennedy and John Adams as well as artists like John Lennon. The Bible’s most memorable Johns are John the Baptist, Jesus’s rugged cousin, and the apostle John. Namesakes include tennis star John McEnroe, famous for his on-court outbursts, and John Anderton, the pre-crime cop of Minority Report.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names Book, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Boys, Classic Biblical Baby Names, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Badass Baby Names, Sci-Fi Baby Names
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Usage of John in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching John against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if John is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
John in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 8,027 boys were named John, making it the #23 boys' name in the US. Since 1880, 5,182,633 boys have been named John, with the most (88,324) in 1947. It is most common, relative to births, in Alabama, Mississippi and Wyoming.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
John in other languages
- Jan Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish
- Hannes Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Swedish
- Ivan Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Slovenian
- Ivo Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Italian, Slovenian
- Johannes Dutch, Estonian, German, Norwegian, Swedish
- Jon Danish, English, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
- Иван Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian
- Hans Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish
- Iwan Dutch, German, Polish, Welsh
- Jack Dutch, English, Irish
- Johan Dutch, German, Swedish
- Sean Dutch, English, Irish
- Evan Dutch, Welsh
- Gianni Dutch, Italian
- Giovanni Dutch, Italian
- Ian Dutch, English
- Ioan Romanian, Welsh
- Iván Hungarian, Spanish
- Johann Dutch, German
- Johnny Dutch, English
- Juan Dutch, Spanish
- Gian Italian
- Gioan Vietnamese
- Hanns German
- Honza Czech
- Ieuan Welsh
- Ifan Welsh
- Ioannes Latin
- Ion Romanian
- Ionuț Romanian
John name days
- January 7 Greece
- May 3 Sweden
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Storms named John
Tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that have been named John, newest first.
| Storm | Year | Ocean | Peak wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane John (Category 3) | 2024 | Eastern Pacific | 194 km/h |
| Hurricane John (Category 2) | 2018 | Eastern Pacific | 176 km/h |
| Tropical storm John | 2012 | Eastern Pacific | 74 km/h |
| Hurricane John (Category 4) | 2006 | Eastern Pacific | 213 km/h |
| Cyclone John (Category 4) | 2000 | South Indian Ocean | 241 km/h |
| Tropical storm John | 2000 | Eastern Pacific | 111 km/h |
| Hurricane John (Category 5) | 1994 | Eastern Pacific | 278 km/h |
| Tropical storm John | 1989 | South Indian Ocean | 74 km/h |
| Tropical storm John | 1988 | Eastern Pacific | 65 km/h |
| Hurricane John (Category 3) | 1982 | Eastern Pacific | 185 km/h |
…and 1 earlier storms.
Source: IBTrACS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Peak wind is the highest sustained wind recorded for the storm.
Towns named John
There are 151 towns and villages with John in their name, in 28 countries.
🇺🇸 United States 51🇬🇧 United Kingdom 18🇿🇲 Zambia 12🇲🇼 Malawi 11🇱🇷 Liberia 10🇨🇦 Canada 9🇲🇿 Mozambique 6🇳🇬 Nigeria 4
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John | New Brunswick, 🇨🇦 Canada | 71,808 | Map |
| Saint John | Indiana, 🇺🇸 United States | 14,850 | Map |
| Saint John | Missouri, 🇺🇸 United States | 6,584 | Map |
| Saint John | St John, 🇯🇪 Jersey | 3,051 | Map |
| River John | Nova Scotia, 🇨🇦 Canada | 2,399 | Map |
| Cabin John | Maryland, 🇺🇸 United States | 2,280 | Map |
| John Day | Oregon, 🇺🇸 United States | 1,680 | Map |
| Saint John | Kansas, 🇺🇸 United States | 1,295 | Map |
| Saint John | Washington, 🇺🇸 United States | 537 | Map |
| Saint John | North Dakota, 🇺🇸 United States | 341 | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named John
There are 287 lakes and reservoirs with John in their name, in 3 countries.
🇺🇸 United States 189🇨🇦 Canada 97🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 1
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Manitoba, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | Alberta, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| John Lake | British Columbia, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
John songs
188 songs and musical works on Wikidata have John in their title. The best known:
- St John Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach
- The Ballad of John and Yoko – The Beatles (1969)
- Not Now John – Roger Waters (1983)
- John Brown's Body – William Steffe (1850)
- John the Revelator / Lilian – Depeche Mode (2006)
- Sloop John B – Brian Wilson (1966)
- John Barleycorn
- John Wayne (2016)
- John, I'm Only Dancing – David Bowie (1972)
- Abraham, Martin and John – Dion DiMucci (1968)
Song data: Wikidata (CC0), ordered by how widely each song is covered on Wikipedia.
Celebrities named John
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name John.
John "Kayo" Dottley
John "Mule" Miles
John A. Kent
John A. Powers
See more...
Fictional characters named John
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
John as a pet name
FurryName has found 87 dogs named John in public pet registers, making it the #1,813 dog name there. Most of them are registered in Zurich (3), Corangamite Shire (1), Victoria (1). John as a dog name →
John products
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John name mug
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John tumbler
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John cap
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John t-shirt
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John necklace
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John bracelet
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John keychain
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John ornament
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John baby blanket
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John name puzzle
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John wall sign
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John pillow
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