girls' name ★ peaked 1984

Joanna

Meaning God is gracious Gender Girl Rank 2025 #306 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

From Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which…

Rank 2025
#306
among girls · ↑23 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
997
named Joanna · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,612
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1984
3,353 babies
All-time total
112,067
#344 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Joanna popularity over time

112,067 babies have been named Joanna since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 290 – 290 29 – #308
1890s 389 – 389 39 +34% #409
1900s 391 – 391 39 +1% #478
1910s 1,186 – 1,186 119 +203% #500
1920s 2,233 – 2,233 223 +88% #398
1930s 3,914 – 3,914 391 +75% #281
1940s 4,709 – 4,709 471 +20% #307
1950s 5,151 – 5,151 515 +9% #348
1960s 9,196 12 9,208 921 +79% #244
1970s 15,281 42 15,323 1,532 +66% #152
1980s 22,216 154 22,370 2,237 +46% #88
1990s 16,287 69 16,356 1,636 -27% #138
2000s 12,970 24 12,994 1,299 -21% #206
2010s 11,409 5 11,414 1,141 -12% #213
2020s (to 2025) 6,139 – 6,139 1,023 -10% #256

Where Joanna is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 954 0.59 #322
2027 918 0.57 #335
2028 889 0.55 #345
2029 865 0.54 #354
2030 845 0.53 #362

Where Joanna is most popular

Girls named Joanna per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.612 per 1,000. Strongest in Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Joanna born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Kansas 76 1.32 +115%
Nebraska 46 1.28 +109%
Wyoming 5 1.17 +92%
Iowa 64 1.10 +79%
Ohio 255 1.07 +76%
Arkansas 56 1.06 +73%
Indiana 148 1.05 +72%
West Virginia 26 0.992 +62%
Wisconsin 100 0.971 +59%
Tennessee 153 0.966 +58%
Maryland 102 0.963 +57%
Washington 139 0.962 +57%
Virginia 163 0.956 +56%
South Carolina 85 0.946 +55%
Pennsylvania 220 0.930 +52%
North Carolina 211 0.927 +51%
Kentucky 79 0.924 +51%
Oregon 60 0.921 +51%
Michigan 166 0.911 +49%
Alabama 84 0.895 +46%
Missouri 106 0.880 +44%
Mississippi 39 0.834 +36%
Georgia 186 0.819 +34%
Oklahoma 59 0.802 +31%
Minnesota 84 0.778 +27%
Colorado 84 0.753 +23%
Idaho 24 0.717 +17%
South Dakota 10 0.700 +15%
Illinois 160 0.699 +14%
Hawaii 8 0.698 +14%
Alaska 6 0.697 +14%
Arizona 93 0.663 +8%
Texas 499 0.620 ≈ national
Massachusetts 75 0.620 ≈ national
California 502 0.597 ≈ national
Louisiana 52 0.594 ≈ national
Utah 49 0.589 ≈ national
New York 208 0.525 -14%
Florida 215 0.502 -18%
Connecticut 27 0.464 -24%
Delaware 5 0.441 -28%
New Jersey 76 0.421 -31%
New Mexico 10 0.411 -33%
Nevada 18 0.387 -37%
Montana 5 0.369 -40%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 -56%
District of Columbia – – –
Maine – – –
North Dakota – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Joanna

Joanna is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #306 in 2025 with 997 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 112,067 American babies have been named Joanna. Its peak came in 1984, when 3,353 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Joanna stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Joanna?

The median living Joanna is about 37 years old; half are between 22 and 50. An estimated 100 thousand people named Joanna are alive in the United States today.

median 37 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Joanna year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 997 #306 – –
2024 945 #329 – –
2023 918 #339 – –
2022 1,002 #321 – –
2021 1,101 #291 – –
2020 1,176 #256 – –
2019 1,281 #254 – –
2018 1,454 #213 – –
2017 1,352 #235 – –
2016 1,274 #248 – –
2015 1,065 #306 – –
2014 1,022 #325 5 #12,983
2013 945 #343 – –
2012 974 #323 – –
2011 976 #323 – –
2010 1,066 #305 – –
2009 1,106 #302 5 #13,384
2008 1,194 #283 – –
2007 1,392 #252 – –
2006 1,289 #256 – –
2005 1,167 #284 – –
2004 1,280 #251 8 #8,502
2003 1,303 #252 6 #10,178
2002 1,335 #239 – –
2001 1,555 #206 5 #11,392
2000 1,349 #238 – –
1995 1,597 #185 8 #6,658
1990 2,230 #138 11 #4,830
1985 2,772 #99 23 #2,325
1980 1,725 #163 8 #4,709
1975 1,699 #158 6 #5,099
1970 1,331 #236 5 #5,073
1965 910 #293 – –
1960 820 #329 – –
1955 455 #414 – –
1950 478 #364 – –
1945 426 #333 – –
1940 412 #314 – –
1935 424 #293 – –
1930 359 #351 – –
1925 236 #452 – –
1920 167 #554 – –
1915 147 #516 – –
1910 49 #596 – –
1905 41 #539 – –
1900 37 #573 – –
1895 29 #551 – –
1890 33 #454 – –
1885 40 #322 – –
1880 26 #313 – –

Famous people named Joanna

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Joanna Lumley Joanna Lumley Indian-born British actress (born 1946) Contemporary
  2. 2 Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Joanna Cassidy Joanna Cassidy American actress b. 1945 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Joanna of Castile Joanna of Castile Queen of Castile (1504–1555) and Aragon (1516–1555) 1479–1555 · Medieval
  5. 5 Joanna Moore Joanna Moore American actress (1934–1997) Contemporary
  6. 6 Joanna Angel Joanna Angel American pornographic film actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  7. 7 Joanna Going Joanna Going American actress (born 1963) Contemporary
  8. 8 Joanna Kerns American actress and director b. 1953 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk Polish mixed martial artist and kickboxer b. 1987 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Joanna Krupa Joanna Krupa Polish-born American model and actress b. 1979 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Joanna Pacuła Polish–American actress (born 1957) Contemporary
  12. 12 Joanna Kulig Joanna Kulig Polish actress and singer (born 1982) Contemporary
  13. 13 Joanna, wife of Chuza Joanna, wife of Chuza Christian saint 1–100 · Antiquity
  14. 14 Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp Princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst 1712–1760 · 18th century
  15. 15 Joanna I of Naples Joanna I of Naples Queen of Naples from 1343 to 1381 1326–1382 · Medieval
  16. 16 Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Portugal 1535–1573 · 16th century
  17. 17 JoAnna Garcia JoAnna Garcia American actress (born 1979) Contemporary
  18. 18 Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1574 to 1578 1547–1578 · 16th century
  19. 19 Joanna la Beltraneja Joanna la Beltraneja Queen of Portugal and claimant to the Castilian throne (1462–1530) Medieval
  20. 20 Joanna II of Naples Joanna II of Naples Queen of Naples from 1414 to 1435 1373–1435 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Joanna, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Joanna?

The median living Joanna is about 37 years old. Half of all living Joannas are between 22 and 50 years old.

How many people named Joanna are alive today?

An estimated 100 thousand people named Joanna are alive in the United States, based on 112,067 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Joanna mean?

From Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets.

How popular is the name Joanna in 2025?

Joanna ranked #306 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 997 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Joanna?

112,067 babies have been named Joanna in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Joanna most popular?

Joanna peaked in 1984, when 3,353 newborns received the name.

Is Joanna a boy or girl name?

Joanna is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Joanna rising or falling?

Joanna has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Joanna become more popular?

Joanna is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 845 girls named Joanna in 2030, which would rank around #362. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Joanna?

Well-known people named Joanna include Joanna Lumley (actor), Joanna Newsom (musician), Joanna Cassidy (actor).

Names like Joanna

Names that sound and feel close to Joanna: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Joanna with similar names → More names starting with J →