Joon
A masculine Korean name meaning "upright" or "obedient".
Name Census estimates that about 525 living Americans carry the first name Joon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Joon today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joon births was 2024 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joon. 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
525
~ 1 in 652,865 Americans
Peak year
2024
26 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,121
Tracked since 1971
Census
Joon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,397 people with the first name Joon, which placed it at #6,636 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
#6,636
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,397 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joon is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Joon 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 Joon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.8% · 2,224
- White3.5% · 84
- Two or more races2.1% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 27
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Joon
Joon leans heavily male at 88.2% of total registrations, but 63 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Joon as a male name
- Ranked #4,121 in 2024
- 26 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (26 births)
Joon as a female name
- Ranked #12,735 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2012 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joon leans strongly male. 2,107 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 293 female bearers (12.2%).
Popularity
Joon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 125 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Joon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joon 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 Joon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Kansas, New York recorded the most babies named Joon, while New York, Kansas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joon
The name Joon has its origins in the Persian language and culture. It is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the Persian name Javad, which means "generous" or "noble." The name Joon is thought to have been used as a term of endearment or affection, particularly for children.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joon can be found in Persian literature from the 10th century. The renowned poet Ferdowsi mentioned the name in his epic work, the Shahnameh, which is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature. In this work, Joon is portrayed as a brave and virtuous character.
Throughout history, the name Joon has been associated with several notable figures. One of the most famous was Joon Behzad, a renowned Persian painter and miniaturist who lived during the 15th century. His intricate and vibrant paintings are considered among the finest examples of Persian art from that era.
Another prominent individual with the name Joon was Joon Khan, a powerful military commander who lived during the 16th century. He served as the governor of several provinces in Persia (modern-day Iran) and played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Safavid Empire.
In the field of science, Joon Habibi, a renowned Iranian-American physicist and engineer, made significant contributions to the development of polymer science and nanotechnology. He was born in 1937 and passed away in 2015.
Moving into the realm of sports, Joon Park is a Korean-American professional golfer who has won several tournaments on the PGA Tour. He was born in 1979 and continues to compete at the highest level of professional golf.
It is important to note that while the name Joon has Persian roots, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and communities around the world, particularly in regions with historical ties to Persia or where Persian influence has been significant.
People
Joon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joon 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
Joon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 525 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joon 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 652,865 US residents.
Is Joon a common name?
We classify Joon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 535 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joon most popular?
The single biggest year for Joon was 2024, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joon is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,397 people with the name Joon, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,636 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 Joon 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 Joon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joon leans strongly male. 2,107 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 293 female bearers (12.2%). 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 Joon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joon is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Joon most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Joon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (2,224 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 Joon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joon a male name?
Yes, 88.2% of people registered as Joon 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.
Is Joon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joon 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 Joon 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 are named Joon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.