How Many People Are Named John?
people named John are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 124 people in the US has this name
Based on 5,204,377 babies named John in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐⭐⭐ Very Common
Peak Year
88,527 births
Trend
Declining (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious". The Hebrew form occurs in the Old Testament (spelled Johanan or Jehohanan in the English version), but this name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first is John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who is considered the forerunner of Jesus. He baptized Jesus and was later executed by Herod Antipas. The second is the apostle John, who is traditionally regarded as the author of the fourth gospel and Revelation. With the apostles Peter and James (his brother), he was part of the inner circle of Jesus.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name John (99.6%) were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named John alive today is about 54 years old, and 48% are 60 or older. Half of them were between 40 and 70 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
John first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1947, to 88,527 babies. In 2025, 8,033 babies got the name. Over the last ten years, the number each year has been falling.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
John was the #1 boys' name in the US in 1880 to 1923. It was in the top 10 in 108 years between 1880 and 1991. In 2025 it ranked #23.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #23 |
| Best rank | #1 (1880 to 1923) |
| Years at #1 | 44 |
| Years in the top 10 | 108 |
| Years in the top 100 | 146 (1880 to 2025) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #4 in the 1950s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named John alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named John were born in New York than in any other state: about 259,415 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, John was given 1.5 times as often in Delaware, 1.5 times in Massachusetts and 1.4 times in Connecticut.
Look up another name
⊙ We don't save the names you search.