Yoana
A feminine name of Slavic origin meaning "God's gracious gift".
Name Census estimates that about 1,506 living Americans carry the first name Yoana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yoana today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoana births was 2001 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoana. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 227,593 Americans
Peak year
2001
93 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,755
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Yoana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yoana 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 608 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoana 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 Yoana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yoanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Yoana, while Illinois, New York, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 124 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoana
The name Yoana is a feminine given name with roots in several languages and cultures. It is believed to have originated from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful." This Hebrew name later evolved into the Greek form Ioannes, and subsequently into the Latin Johannes, which gave rise to the English name John.
In the Slavic languages, particularly in Bulgarian and Serbian, Yoana is a variant of the name Ioanna, which is the feminine form of the name John. The name gained popularity in these regions due to the influence of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, where numerous saints and religious figures bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yoana can be found in the New Testament, where it refers to John the Baptist, a Jewish preacher and a forerunner of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Luke mentions Yoana as the wife of Chuza, a steward of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Yoana. In the 10th century, Yoana I of Naples was a Duchess of Naples who ruled from 901 to 910 AD. Another prominent figure was Yoana of Navarre, a Spanish noblewoman who lived from 1370 to 1437 and served as Queen of Navarre from 1425 until her death.
In the realm of literature, Yoana Borissova (1949-2021) was a Bulgarian writer and poet who gained acclaim for her poetic works and prose. Additionally, Yoana González (born 1985) is a Spanish actress known for her roles in television series and films.
Lastly, in the field of sports, Yoana Gonzalez Lucio (born 1995) is a Mexican professional tennis player who has represented her country in various international tournaments.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Yoana, which has been borne by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries.
People
Yoana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoana 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
Yoana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,506 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoana 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 227,593 US residents.
Is Yoana a common name?
We classify Yoana as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,542 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yoana most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoana was 2001, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoana is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yoana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoana 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.