boys' name ★ peaked 2016

Johan

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #572 Trend ↑ Rising 16%

An archaic variant of Joan, from Old French Johan, from Latin Johanna.

Rank 2025
#572
among boys · ↓35 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
516
named Johan · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,310
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2016
659 babies
All-time total
14,788
#984 all-time among boys
First recorded
1910
in Social Security records

Johan popularity over time

14,788 babies have been named Johan since 1910, 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
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 52 52 5 – #1,721
1920s 14 71 85 9 +63% #2,557
1930s 68 27 95 10 +12% #2,459
1940s 13 37 50 5 -47% #2,767
1950s 5 46 51 5 +2% #2,710
1960s – 110 110 11 +116% #2,014
1970s – 197 197 20 +79% #1,611
1980s 8 445 453 45 +130% #1,201
1990s – 890 890 89 +96% #838
2000s 27 4,430 4,457 446 +401% #451
2010s – 5,363 5,363 536 +20% #454
2020s (to 2025) – 2,985 2,985 498 -7% #537

Where Johan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 529 0.31 outside top 500
2027 540 0.32 outside top 500
2028 549 0.32 outside top 500
2029 557 0.33 outside top 500
2030 564 0.33 outside top 500

Where Johan is most popular

Boys named Johan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.293 per 1,000. Strongest in Maryland, New Jersey, and Texas.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Johan 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Maryland 70 0.587 +101%
New Jersey 114 0.566 +94%
Texas 426 0.483 +65%
New York 208 0.480 +64%
Connecticut 32 0.473 +62%
North Carolina 104 0.407 +39%
California 365 0.399 +36%
Louisiana 40 0.391 +34%
Georgia 98 0.387 +32%
Arkansas 24 0.379 +30%
Illinois 96 0.376 +28%
Nevada 21 0.368 +26%
Florida 169 0.357 +22%
Virginia 65 0.343 +17%
South Carolina 34 0.329 +12%
Massachusetts 44 0.320 +9%
Oklahoma 26 0.294 ≈ national
Washington 47 0.287 ≈ national
Indiana 42 0.262 -10%
Tennessee 43 0.238 -19%
Arizona 32 0.196 -33%
Pennsylvania 51 0.192 -34%
Minnesota 22 0.179 -39%
Kansas 11 0.160 -45%
New Mexico 5 0.152 -48%
Colorado 19 0.147 -50%
Oregon 11 0.145 -50%
Utah 12 0.126 -57%
Ohio 31 0.117 -60%
Alabama 11 0.101 -66%
Michigan 19 0.093 -68%
Iowa 6 0.087 -70%
Wisconsin 7 0.059 -80%
Kentucky 5 0.050 -83%
Missouri 5 0.036 -88%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Johan

Johan is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #572 in 2025 with 516 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1910, 14,788 American babies have been named Johan. Its peak came in 2016, when 659 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Johan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Johan?

The median living Johan is about 13 years old; half are between 7 and 20. An estimated 14 thousand people named Johan are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

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

Johan 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 – – 516 #572
2024 – – 555 #537
2023 – – 517 #564
2022 – – 501 #580
2021 – – 438 #631
2020 – – 458 #600
2019 – – 481 #580
2018 – – 480 #577
2017 – – 577 #503
2016 – – 659 #463
2015 – – 514 #559
2014 – – 478 #581
2013 – – 496 #534
2012 – – 566 #480
2011 – – 520 #502
2010 – – 592 #454
2009 – – 573 #478
2008 – – 616 #451
2007 6 #16,408 530 #498
2006 – – 476 #531
2005 – – 440 #546
2004 7 #13,389 395 #573
2003 – – 388 #570
2002 7 #12,815 447 #511
2001 7 #12,657 393 #547
2000 – – 172 #904
1995 – – 78 #1,331
1990 – – 40 #1,919
1985 – – 33 #1,814
1980 – – 30 #1,885
1975 – – 15 #2,695
1970 – – 17 #2,247
1965 – – 16 #2,036
1960 – – – –
1955 – – 9 #2,866
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 8 #3,300 10 #2,459
1930 8 #3,499 10 #2,698
1925 – – 7 #3,571
1920 – – 7 #3,646
1915 – – 9 #2,726
1910 – – 5 #1,721
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Johan

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

  1. 1 Johan Cruyff Johan Cruyff Dutch footballer and manager (1947–2016) Contemporary
  2. 2 Johan de Witt Johan de Witt Dutch statesman (1625–1672) 17th century
  3. 3 Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Dutch statesman and revolutionary (1547–1619) 16th century
  4. 4 Johan Huizinga Johan Huizinga Dutch cultural historian (1872–1945) 19th century
  5. 5 Johan Galtung Johan Galtung Norwegian sociologist and peace scholar (1930–2024) Contemporary
  6. 6 Johan Ferrier Johan Ferrier President of Suriname from 1975 to 1980 1910–2010 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Johan Christian Dahl Johan Christian Dahl Norwegian artist (1788–1857) 18th century
  8. 8 Johan Ludvig Runeberg Johan Ludvig Runeberg Finnish poet (1804–1877) 19th century
  9. 9 Johan Nygaardsvold Johan Nygaardsvold Norwegian politician (1879–1952) 19th century
  10. 10 Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist (1864 - 1935) 19th century
  11. 11 Johan Rudolph Thorbecke Johan Rudolph Thorbecke Dutch politician (1798–1872) 18th century
  12. 12 Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius Danish zoologist (1745–1808) 18th century
  13. 13 Johan Banér Johan Banér Swedish field marshal (1596–1641) 16th century
  14. 14 Johan Laidoner Johan Laidoner Estonian general (1884–1953) 19th century
  15. 15 Johan Vilhelm Snellman Johan Vilhelm Snellman Finland-Swedish philosopher and statesman (1806–1881) 19th century
  16. 16 Johan Gadolin Johan Gadolin Finnish chemist (1760–1852) 18th century
  17. 17 Johan Jensen Johan Jensen Danish mathematician and engineer (1859–1925) 19th century
  18. 18 Johan Helmich Roman Swedish Baroque composer 1694–1758 · 17th century
  19. 19 Johan Jongkind Johan Jongkind Dutch painter and printmaker 1819–1891 · 19th century
  20. 20 Johan Svendsen Johan Svendsen Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist (1840-1911) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Johan?

The median living Johan is about 13 years old. Half of all living Johans are between 7 and 20 years old.

How many people named Johan are alive today?

An estimated 14 thousand people named Johan are alive in the United States, based on 14,788 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Johan mean?

An archaic variant of Joan, from Old French Johan, from Latin Johanna.

How popular is the name Johan in 2025?

Johan ranked #572 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 516 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Johan?

14,788 babies have been named Johan in the United States since 1910, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Johan most popular?

Johan peaked in 2016, when 659 newborns received the name.

Is Johan a boy or girl name?

Johan is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Johan rising or falling?

Johan is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Johan become more popular?

Johan is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 564 boys named Johan in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Johan?

Well-known people named Johan include Johan Cruyff (soccer player), Johan de Witt (politician), Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (politician).

Names like Johan

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

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