Yianni
A masculine Greek name derived from Ioannis, meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 450 living Americans carry the first name Yianni. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yianni today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yianni births was 2011 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yianni. 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
450
~ 1 in 761,676 Americans
Peak year
2011
22 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,212
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Yianni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yianni from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 156 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yianni remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yianni 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 Yianni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yiannis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yianni
The name Yianni is a Greek masculine given name derived from the ancient Greek name Ioannes, which itself is the Greek derivative of the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The name Ioannes was widely used in the Byzantine Empire and later adopted by various European cultures.
In its Greek form, Yianni is a diminutive or shortened version of the name Ioannis, which is the modern Greek equivalent of Ioannes. The name gained popularity in Greece and the Greek diaspora communities around the world.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Ioannes can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it refers to John the Baptist, a significant figure in Christianity. The name was also borne by several Byzantine emperors, including John I Tzimiskes (925-976) and John II Komnenos (1087-1143).
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yianni or its variations. One prominent example is Yianni Petsopoulos (1873-1957), a Greek composer and conductor who is considered one of the pioneers of the modern Greek national music movement.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name is Yiannis Chrysomallis (1927-2008), a Greek singer and actor who had a successful career spanning over six decades and was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Greek entertainment industry.
In the field of sports, Yianni Toursidis (1937-2022) was a Greek footballer who played as a striker and represented the Greek national team in the 1960s. He is considered one of the greatest Greek players of all time.
The name Yianni has also been prominent in literature, with Yiannis Ritsos (1909-1990) being one of the most renowned Greek poets of the 20th century. His works explored themes of social justice, resistance, and the human condition, earning him widespread recognition and numerous literary awards.
Another notable bearer of the name is Yianni Ioannou (1893-1966), a Cypriot architect and civil engineer who played a significant role in the development of modern architecture in Cyprus and the broader region.
While the name Yianni is predominantly Greek in origin, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures around the world, reflecting the widespread influence of Greek culture and the Byzantine Empire throughout history.
People
Yianni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yianni as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yianni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yianni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 450 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yianni 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 761,676 US residents.
Is Yianni a common name?
We classify Yianni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 455 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yianni most popular?
The single biggest year for Yianni was 2011, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yianni is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yianni a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yianni 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.
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.