Jovan
A masculine given name of Serbian origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 10,645 living Americans carry the first name Jovan. It is a predominantly male name (90.2% of registrations). The average person named Jovan today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jovan births was 1979 (329 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jovan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jovan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 32,199 Americans
Peak year
1979
329 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,748
Tracked since 1966
Census
Jovan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,011 people with the first name Jovan, which placed it at #2,633 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
#2,633
National first-name rank
People counted
9.0K
9,011 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jovan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jovan is Black at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.5%) and White (15.1%). 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 Jovan 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 Jovan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.1% · 3,791
- Hispanic or Latino33.5% · 3,021
- White15.1% · 1,364
- Two or more races4.9% · 441
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 345
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 49
Gender
Gender distribution for Jovan
Jovan leans heavily male at 90.2% of total registrations, but 1,079 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jovan as a male name
- Ranked #1,748 in 2024
- 94 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (270 births)
Jovan as a female name
- Ranked #14,710 in 2003
- 6 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1981 (90 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jovan leans strongly male. 8,093 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 920 female bearers (10.2%).
Popularity
Jovan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jovan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 2,798 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jovan 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 Jovan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jovans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jovan, while Missouri, Hawaii, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 254 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jovan
The name Jovan has its roots in the Serbian language and culture, originating from the ancient Greek name Ioannes, which in turn stems from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." This name was popular among early Christians, as it was the name of John the Baptist and the Apostle John.
The name Jovan first appeared in the Slavic languages in the 9th century, after the introduction of Christianity to the region. It was widely used among the South Slavic peoples, particularly in Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. In these regions, the name was often associated with national heroes and prominent figures in religious and cultural spheres.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jovan can be found in the famous 12th-century Serbian epic poem, "The Trojan Cycle." The poem features a character named Jovan, who is portrayed as a brave and noble warrior. This literary reference highlights the long-standing presence of the name in Serbian culture.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jovan. One of the most prominent was Jovan Vladimir (1000-1016), the Prince of Duklja, a medieval Serbian principality. He is celebrated for his efforts in strengthening the Serbian state and promoting Christianity in the region.
Another significant figure was Jovan Ristic (1831-1899), a Serbian diplomat and politician who played a crucial role in the establishment of modern Serbia. He served as the Prime Minister of Serbia and was instrumental in the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire.
In the realm of religion, Jovan Rajic (1726-1801) was a prominent Serbian Orthodox clergyman and historian. He is best known for his seminal work, "The History of Various Slavic Peoples, Especially Bulgars, Croats, and Serbs," which contributed significantly to the preservation of Serbian cultural heritage.
The name Jovan has also been associated with literary figures, such as Jovan Ducic (1871-1943), a renowned Serbian poet, and Jovan Cvijic (1865-1927), a geographer and ethnographer who made significant contributions to the study of the Balkan region.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Jovan, which has been carried by individuals who have left an indelible mark on Serbian society, politics, religion, and arts throughout the centuries.
People
Jovan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jovan 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
Jovan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jovan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,645 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jovan 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 32,199 US residents.
Is Jovan a common name?
We classify Jovan as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,969 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jovan most popular?
The single biggest year for Jovan was 1979, when 329 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jovan is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jovan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,011 people with the name Jovan, or 2.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,633 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 Jovan 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 Jovan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jovan leans strongly male. 8,093 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 920 female bearers (10.2%). 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 Jovan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jovan is Black at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.5%) and White (15.1%). 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 Jovan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jovan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.1% (3,791 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 Jovan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jovan a male name?
Yes, 90.2% of people registered as Jovan 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 Jovan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jovan 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 Jovan 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 Jovan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.