Johnetta
A feminine diminutive form of John, a name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 2,142 living Americans carry the first name Johnetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Johnetta today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Johnetta births was 1952 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Johnetta. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,016 Americans
Peak year
1952
69 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2009 SSA rank
#16,123
Tracked since 1892
Census
Johnetta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,044 people with the first name Johnetta, which placed it at #7,462 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
#7,462
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,044 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Johnetta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Johnetta is Black at 78.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Johnetta 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 Johnetta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.5% · 1,604
- White16.7% · 341
- Two or more races2.8% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.0% · 1
Popularity
Johnetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Johnetta from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 581 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
Johnetta 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 Johnetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Johnettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Johnetta, while District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Johnetta
The name Johnetta is a feminine form of the masculine name John, which is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Graced by God" or "Yahweh is gracious." The name John has its roots in the ancient Hebrew culture and can be traced back to biblical times.
The earliest recorded use of the name Johnetta can be found in the United States during the late 19th century. It is believed to have been created as a unique variation of the more common names Johanna or Joanna, which are also derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Johnetta was Johnetta Bettis Cole (1842-1919), an African American educator and activist from North Carolina. She was a pioneer in the field of education for African Americans and played a crucial role in establishing schools and advocating for equal educational opportunities.
Another notable figure with the name Johnetta was Johnetta Haley (1923-1988), an American singer and actress. She was known for her roles in several Broadway productions and television shows, including the popular sitcom "Good Times" in the 1970s.
In the realm of sports, Johnetta Bolden (born 1965) is a former professional basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for teams like the Los Angeles Sparks and the Seattle Storm.
The name Johnetta also has a literary connection through Johnetta Elzie Cole (1933-2016), an African American author and poet. She was known for her works that explored themes of identity, family, and the African American experience.
Another influential figure with the name Johnetta was Johnetta B. Cole (born 1936), an American academic and former president of Spelman College and Bennett College for Women. She was a trailblazer in higher education and played a significant role in advancing opportunities for women and minorities in academia.
While the name Johnetta may not be as common as its root name John, it has been carried by notable individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and societal narratives.
People
Johnetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Johnetta 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
Johnetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Johnetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Johnetta 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 160,016 US residents.
Is Johnetta a common name?
We classify Johnetta as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Johnetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Johnetta was 1952, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Johnetta is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Johnetta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,044 people with the name Johnetta, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,462 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 Johnetta 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 Johnetta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Johnetta appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,043 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Johnetta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Johnetta is Black at 78.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Johnetta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Johnetta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.5% (1,604 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 Johnetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Johnetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Johnetta 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 Johnetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Johnetta 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 Johnetta 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 Johnetta as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Johnetta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.