Johnell
A masculine name with possible origins from English or African-American culture.
Name Census estimates that about 1,338 living Americans carry the first name Johnell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Johnell today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Johnell births was 1977 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Johnell. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 256,169 Americans
Peak year
1977
37 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2020 SSA rank
#9,092
Tracked since 1925
Gender
Gender distribution for Johnell
Johnell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,589 total registrations, 1,234 (77.7%) were male and 355 (22.3%) were female.
Johnell as a male name
- Ranked #9,092 in 2020
- 8 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1990 (27 births)
Johnell as a female name
- Ranked #14,983 in 2004
- 6 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1971 (12 births)
Popularity
Johnell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Johnell from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 270 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Johnell 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 Johnell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Johnells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Louisiana, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Johnell, while Florida, South Carolina, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Johnell
The given name Johnell is believed to have originated as a variation of the more common name John, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Yohanan or Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious". The name John became widely popular across Europe after the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, as documented in the New Testament of the Bible.
The earliest recorded use of the name Johnell can be traced back to the late 19th century in parts of the Southern United States, particularly among African American communities. It is believed to have emerged as a unique spelling variation of John, potentially influenced by the similar-sounding French name Jeannelle.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Johnell was Johnell Franklin, an African American blues singer and guitarist who was active in the 1920s and 1930s in the Mississippi Delta region. He is credited with helping to shape the distinctive sound of the Delta blues genre.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johnell Hendrix (1904-1980), the mother of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. She played a significant role in nurturing his musical talents from a young age and supporting his career until her passing.
Johnell Bryant (1926-2003) was an American professional baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs and the Birmingham Black Barons during the 1940s and 1950s. He was later inducted into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's Hall of Fame.
In the realm of literature, Johnell Franklin is the pen name of an American author and poet who has published several collections of poetry and short stories since the 1990s, exploring themes of identity, race, and social justice.
Johnell DeWitt (born 1985) is a contemporary American film director and screenwriter known for her critically acclaimed independent films that shed light on the experiences of marginalized communities. Her debut feature film, "The Broken Ones," won several awards at international film festivals.
While the name Johnell remains relatively uncommon, its unique spelling and historical roots in African American culture have contributed to its enduring presence as a given name, often carrying a sense of individuality and cultural significance.
People
Johnell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Johnell 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
Johnell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Johnell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Johnell 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 256,169 US residents.
Is Johnell a common name?
We classify Johnell as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Johnell most popular?
The single biggest year for Johnell was 1977, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Johnell is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Johnell a male name?
Yes, 77.7% of people registered as Johnell 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.
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.