Johnese
Feminine derivative of the name John, meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Johnese. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Johnese today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Johnese births was 1992 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Johnese. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Johnese. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1992
6 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1992 SSA rank
#12,432
Tracked since 1955
Census
Johnese in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Johnese, which placed it at #49,809 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
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Johnese
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Johnese is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Johnese 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 Johnese at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.3% · 100
- White8.9% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 5
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 3
Popularity
Johnese: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Johnese from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Johnese remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Johnese 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 Johnese 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 Johnese
The given name Johnese has a rich and fascinating history that can be traced back to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, specifically the region of Sumer, located in modern-day Iraq. It is believed to have originated from the Sumerian word "Janesh," which means "the one who walks with grace and dignity."
In the early days of the Sumerian civilization, around 3500 BCE, names were often derived from words that held significant meaning or represented desirable qualities. The name Johnese was likely bestowed upon individuals who embodied the traits of grace and dignity, which were highly valued in that society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Johnese can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem dating back to the third millennium BCE. In this epic, a character named Johnese is mentioned as a wise and respected elder of the city of Uruk.
Throughout history, the name Johnese has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and leaders. One notable figure who bore this name was Johnese of Antioch, a renowned Christian theologian who lived in the 5th century CE. His writings and teachings had a significant impact on the development of early Christian thought and doctrine.
In the 12th century, Johnese al-Idrisi, an Arab geographer and cartographer, gained recognition for his pioneering work in creating one of the most comprehensive maps of the known world at that time. His book, "The Book of Roger," was a significant contribution to the field of cartography and geography.
During the Renaissance period, Johnese Boccaccio, an Italian writer and scholar, left a lasting legacy with his literary masterpiece, "The Decameron." This collection of novellas, written in the 14th century, is considered one of the greatest works of prose in the Italian language and a seminal work of Renaissance literature.
In the realm of art, Johnese Bellini, a Venetian Renaissance painter born in the 15th century, is celebrated for his exceptional contributions to the development of Venetian painting. His works, characterized by their vibrant colors and meticulous attention to detail, are regarded as some of the finest examples of Renaissance art.
While these are just a few examples, the name Johnese has been borne by countless individuals throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on the world in their respective fields and endeavors.
People
Johnese + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Johnese 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
Johnese: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Johnese?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Johnese 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Johnese a common name?
We classify Johnese as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Johnese most popular?
The single biggest year for Johnese was 1992, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Johnese is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Johnese in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Johnese, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 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 Johnese 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 Johnese?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Johnese appears almost entirely female. Of the 118 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Johnese?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Johnese is Black at 81.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Johnese most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Johnese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (100 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 Johnese in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Johnese a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Johnese 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.
Is Johnese still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Johnese 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 Johnese 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 have the name Johnese?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.