Joanne
Feminine form of John, a Hebrew name meaning "God is gracious."
Name Census estimates that about 117,212 living Americans carry the first name Joanne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Joanne today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joanne births was 1947 (6,074 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joanne. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Joanne is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 504 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Joanne is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Joannes were born before 1969.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Joanne have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
117K
~ 1 in 2,924 Americans
Peak year
1947
6,074 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1996 SSA rank
#2,583
Tracked since 1888
Gender
Gender distribution for Joanne
Out of the 212,407 babies given the name Joanne since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Joanne as a male name
- Ranked #9,704 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1937 (22 births)
Joanne as a female name
- Ranked #2,583 in 2024
- 68 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1947 (6,063 births)
Popularity
Joanne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joanne from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 53,641 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joanne 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 Joanne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joannes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Joanne, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,086 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joanne
The name Joanne originated from the French variation of the Hebrew name Yohanan, which means "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is merciful." This feminine form of the name first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th century.
In its early years, the name Joanne was primarily used in France and other French-speaking regions of Europe. It was derived from the Old French spelling "Johanne," which later evolved into the modern French form "Jeanne."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joanne can be found in the medieval French epic poem "The Song of Roland," written around the late 11th century. This literary work features a character named Joanne, a noblewoman and the wife of a knight.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity across Europe, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. Several notable historical figures bore the name Joanne, including Joanne Bocher (c. 1520-1550), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for her beliefs.
In the 17th century, Joanne Reynell (1598-1670) was a prominent English writer and religious activist who published works advocating for women's education and greater involvement in religious affairs.
The name Joanne also has associations with the Catholic Church. Saint Joanne Delanoue (1666-1736) was a French nun and mystic who founded the Sisters of Providence, a religious order dedicated to educating young girls.
Another influential figure was Joanne Baillie (1762-1851), a Scottish poet and playwright renowned for her plays and poetry collections, which explored themes of passion, morality, and human nature.
In the 20th century, Joanne Woodward (born 1930) is a notable American actress who won an Academy Award for her performance in the 1957 film "The Three Faces of Eve." She was also known for her long-lasting marriage to actor Paul Newman.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Joanne, a name with rich cultural and linguistic roots that have endured over centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Joanne
People
Joanne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joanne 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
Joanne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joanne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 117,212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joanne 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 2,924 US residents.
Is Joanne a common name?
We classify Joanne as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 212,407 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joanne most popular?
The single biggest year for Joanne was 1947, when 6,074 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joanne is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Joanne a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Joanne 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.