Giovanna
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "God's gift".
Name Census estimates that about 12,888 living Americans carry the first name Giovanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Giovanna today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Giovanna births was 2005 (408 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Giovanna. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,595 Americans
Peak year
2005
408 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#929
Tracked since 1904
Popularity
Giovanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Giovanna from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,719 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Giovanna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Giovanna by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Giovanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Giovannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Giovanna, while New Mexico, Kansas, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 377 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Giovanna
The name Giovanna has its origins in the Italian language and culture. It is a feminine form of the name Giovanni, which is derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The name Giovanna has been in use since the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Giovanna can be found in the 12th century Italian text "Vita Nuova" by Dante Alighieri, where he mentions a woman named Giovanna. This name was particularly popular in Italy during the Renaissance period.
In the 14th century, Giovanna I, Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence, was a prominent figure who bore this name. She ruled from 1343 to 1382 and was known for her tumultuous reign and involvement in the Avignon Papacy.
Another notable Giovanna was Giovanna Battista Cenci, an Italian noblewoman from the 16th century who was executed in 1599 for plotting the murder of her abusive father. Her tragic story has been the subject of various literary and artistic works.
In the 17th century, Giovanna d'Arco, better known as Joan of Arc (1412-1431), was a French heroine who led the French army during the Hundred Years' War against the English. Her bravery and devotion to her cause made her a legendary figure.
In the 19th century, Giovanna Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) was an Italian mystic and nun who was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1940 for her profound spiritual devotion and mystical experiences.
Throughout history, the name Giovanna has been a popular choice in various parts of Italy, as well as in other regions with Italian cultural influence. It has also been used in other languages, such as the Spanish Juana and the Portuguese Joana.
People
Giovanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Giovanna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Giovanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Giovanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,888 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Giovanna going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 26,595 US residents.
Is Giovanna a common name?
We classify Giovanna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,826 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Giovanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Giovanna was 2005, when 408 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Giovanna is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Giovanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Giovanna in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.