Joannah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 412 living Americans carry the first name Joannah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Joannah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joannah births was 2018 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joannah. 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
412
~ 1 in 831,928 Americans
Peak year
2018
15 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,210
Tracked since 1941
Popularity
Joannah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joannah from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 98 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Joannah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joannah 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 Joannah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joannah
The name Joannah is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful." The name traces its roots back to the Old Testament, where it appears as the name of several biblical characters, including John the Baptist.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joannah can be found in the Book of Luke in the New Testament, where it is mentioned as the name of the mother of the apostle Peter. This reference dates back to the 1st century AD.
During the Middle Ages, the name Joannah gained popularity in various European countries, particularly in England and France. It was often used as a variant of the more common name Joan or Joanna, which were derived from the same Hebrew root.
In the 12th century, Joannah of Toulouse (c. 1165 - 1207) was a notable figure in southern France. She was a Cathar religious leader who played a significant role in the Cathar movement, which was considered heretical by the Catholic Church at the time.
Another notable bearer of the name was Joannah Trundle (c. 1670 - c. 1730), an English poet and writer who lived during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She is known for her collection of poetry titled "Poems on Several Occasions," published in 1722.
In the 19th century, Joannah Baillie (1762 - 1851) was a Scottish poet and playwright who gained recognition for her plays and poetry, which often explored themes of human nature and moral dilemmas.
Joannah Southcott (1750 - 1814) was an English religious prophetess who claimed to have received divine revelations and gained a significant following in the early 19th century. Her followers, known as Southcottians, believed she would give birth to the reincarnated Christ.
More recently, Joannah Stutchbury (1944 - 2004) was an English actress known for her roles in various television series and films, including "The Avengers" and "The Prisoner."
While the name Joannah has seen periods of popularity and decline throughout history, it has maintained a presence as a variant of the more common names Joan and Joanna, carrying the significance of its Hebrew roots and biblical associations.
People
Joannah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joannah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joannah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joannah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 412 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joannah 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 831,928 US residents.
Is Joannah a common name?
We classify Joannah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 430 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joannah most popular?
The single biggest year for Joannah was 2018, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joannah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Joannah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joannah 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.