Govanni
Govanni is an Italian masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Govanni. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Govanni today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Govanni births was 2007 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Govanni. 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
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
2007
19 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,855
Tracked since 1990
Census
Govanni in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 345 people with the first name Govanni, which placed it at #26,793 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,793
National first-name rank
People counted
345
345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
87.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Govanni
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Govanni is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and Black (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Govanni described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Govanni at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.5% · 302
- White5.8% · 20
- Black or African American3.2% · 11
- Two or more races2.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
Popularity
Govanni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Govanni from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Govanni 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 Govanni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Govannis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Govanni
The name Govanni is a variant of the Italian given name Giovanni, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Yohanan. Yohanan is derived from the Hebrew words "yo" meaning "Yahweh" (the Hebrew name for God) and "hanan" meaning "he was gracious." Thus, the name Govanni essentially means "Yahweh is gracious" or "graced by God."
The name Giovanni has been in use since ancient times and was particularly popular in Italy during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. It gained widespread recognition through the 13th-century Italian philosopher and theologian, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), who was known for his writings on Christian apologetics and the reconciliation of Renaissance humanism with traditional philosophical and religious teachings.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), an Italian writer and poet who played a significant role in the Renaissance movement. He is best known for his literary masterpiece, the Decameron, a collection of novellas that depicted life in 14th-century Italy.
In the realm of art, the name Govanni is associated with the renowned Italian painter Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-1516), who was a leading figure in the Venetian Renaissance. His works, such as the "San Zaccaria Altarpiece" and the "Pietà," are widely celebrated for their innovative use of color and light.
Moving into the realm of science, the name Govanni is linked to the Italian mathematician and astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625-1712), who made significant contributions to the study of planetary movements and the discovery of several moons of Saturn.
Another historical figure bearing this name is Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), an Italian artist and architect renowned for his etchings of ancient Roman ruins and architectural fantasies. His intricate and imaginative works have had a profound influence on the field of architecture and design.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Govanni or its variant spellings, highlighting its rich cultural and historical significance across various disciplines and time periods.
People
Govanni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Govanni 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
Govanni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Govanni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Govanni 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 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Govanni a common name?
We classify Govanni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Govanni most popular?
The single biggest year for Govanni was 2007, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Govanni is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Govanni in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 345 people with the name Govanni, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,793 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Govanni in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Govanni?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Govanni appears almost entirely male. Of the 337 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Govanni?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Govanni is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and Black (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Govanni most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Govanni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (302 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Govanni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Govanni a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Govanni in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Govanni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Govanni in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Govanni can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Govanni?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.