Johanna
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 39,245 living Americans carry the first name Johanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Johanna today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Johanna births was 1984 (928 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Johanna. 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 Johanna is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 129 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
39K
~ 1 in 8,734 Americans
Peak year
1984
928 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2008 SSA rank
#848
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Johanna
Out of the 54,062 babies given the name Johanna 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.
Johanna as a male name
- Ranked #13,500 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1985 (14 births)
Johanna as a female name
- Ranked #848 in 2024
- 318 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (918 births)
Popularity
Johanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Johanna from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 8,240 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Johanna 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 Johanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Johannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Johanna, while Delaware, Mississippi, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 901 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Johanna
The name Johanna has its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the name Yohanan, which means "Yahweh is gracious." It is a feminine form of the name John, and its earliest recorded use dates back to the 12th century in Europe.
The name gained popularity in various regions, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, where it was widely used. In Germany, the name was sometimes written as Johanne or Johanna, while in the Netherlands, it was often spelled as Janna.
In the Bible, the name Johanna is mentioned as one of the women who followed Jesus and provided for him out of their resources (Luke 8:3). This biblical reference contributed to the name's widespread adoption among Christian communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Johanna is found in the 12th-century writer and philosopher Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), who was also known as Johanna.
In the 16th century, Johanna I (1479-1555) was the Queen of Castile and Aragon, ruling over a unified Spain. Her reign marked a significant period in Spanish history.
Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was a Swiss author best known for her beloved children's novel "Heidi," which has been translated into numerous languages and adapted for various media formats.
Johanna Brandt (1876-1964) was a South African botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and was instrumental in establishing the botanical gardens at the University of Cape Town.
Johanna Stegen (1876-1957) was a Norwegian-American artist and illustrator known for her intricate etchings and woodcuts depicting scenes from rural Norway and the American West.
Throughout history, the name Johanna has been carried by numerous influential women in various fields, including literature, art, science, and politics, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across different regions and time periods.
People
Johanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Johanna 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
Johanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Johanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 39,245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Johanna 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 8,734 US residents.
Is Johanna a common name?
We classify Johanna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54,062 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Johanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Johanna was 1984, when 928 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Johanna is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Johanna a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Johanna 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.