Johnye
A masculine given name derived from the Biblical Hebrew name "John".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Johnye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Johnye today is around 90 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Johnye births was 1922 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Johnye. 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
- • The typical person named Johnye is about 90 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Johnyes were born before 1946.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Johnye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1922
12 babies that year
Average age
90
years old
1950 SSA rank
#5,649
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Johnye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Johnye from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 66 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Johnye 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 Johnye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Johnyes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Johnye
The name Johnye is an English given name that originated in the medieval period. It is a variant spelling of the more common name John, which derives from the Hebrew name Yohanan or Yohannon, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The name John has roots in various ancient languages, including Aramaic, Greek, and Latin.
In the Middle Ages, the name Johnye emerged as a regional variation, particularly in certain parts of England. This spelling likely arose due to local dialects and accents, where the pronunciation of the name evolved slightly from the standard form. Historical records from the 13th to 15th centuries show instances of the name Johnye being used, primarily in rural areas or among lower social classes.
One of the earliest documented uses of the name Johnye can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from Lincolnshire, where a landowner named Johnye de Weston is mentioned. Another notable figure was Johnye Smythe, a blacksmith from Yorkshire who lived in the late 15th century and was recorded in local parish records.
During the Renaissance period, the name Johnye remained relatively uncommon, but it did appear sporadically in various historical texts and records. One notable individual was Johnye Browne, a merchant from Bristol who lived in the early 16th century and was involved in the English wool trade.
In the 17th century, a few individuals with the name Johnye achieved some level of prominence. One example is Johnye Cartwright, an English clergyman and author born in 1611, who wrote several religious works and served as a minister in various parishes.
Another notable figure from this era was Johnye Burroughs, a Puritan minister and writer born in 1628 in England. He was involved in the early settlement of New England and authored several influential works on theology and religious doctrine.
As time progressed, the name Johnye became increasingly rare, and by the 19th century, it had largely fallen out of use, with most people opting for the more standardized spelling of John. However, a few isolated instances of the name can still be found in historical records from this period, such as Johnye Wilkins, a farmer from Oxfordshire born in 1812.
Overall, while the name Johnye was never particularly widespread, it served as an interesting regional variation of the more common name John, reflecting the diversity of local dialects and linguistic traditions in different parts of England during the medieval and early modern periods.
People
Johnye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Johnye 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
Johnye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Johnye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Johnye 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Johnye a common name?
We classify Johnye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Johnye most popular?
The single biggest year for Johnye was 1922, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Johnye is about 90 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Johnye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Johnye 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.