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Worldwide Name Statistics

John

Ranked #4 - 1 in 1,013 people
US

Most common in

United States

2.6M bearers

World total

7,900,000

estimated living bearers

Global rank

#4

worldwide

Country breakdown

United States2.6MUnited Kingdom540k
Worldwide
~7.9M
rank #4
Rarity
1 in 1,013
of people globally
Gender split
100/0
male / female %
Countries covered
2
~2.6M in US

About the name John

There are an estimated 7,900,000 people named John alive worldwide today. That ranks John at #4 globally, with the highest concentrations in United States, United Kingdom.

John originates from Hebrew (Yochanan - 'graced by God'). See more names with this origin on the Hebrew origin page.

In the United States, John is held by approximately 2,626,987 people, ranking #4 among first names. That works out to roughly 791 per 100,000 Americans (or 1 in 126 U.S. residents).

Historically John is used overwhelmingly as a male name (99.6% male).

John appears in birth records going back to 1880. Use the chart below to see how its popularity has changed across decades, and the surname section to find common pairings.

Gender distribution

Based on historical birth records, this name is used predominantly male.

Male 99.6%Female 0.4%

John popularity by year

U.S. births per year for John, 1880 to 2025 (source: SSA name files).

Show data table
  1. 1880: 9,701
  2. 1881: 8,794
  3. 1882: 9,597
  4. 1883: 8,934
  5. 1884: 9,428
  6. 1885: 8,801
  7. 1886: 9,074
  8. 1887: 8,166
  9. 1888: 9,299
  10. 1889: 8,600
  11. 1890: 8,558
  12. 1891: 7,724
  13. 1892: 9,093
  14. 1893: 8,110
  15. 1894: 8,297
  16. 1895: 8,381
  17. 1896: 8,188
  18. 1897: 7,596
  19. 1898: 8,214
  20. 1899: 7,030
  21. 1900: 9,874
  22. 1901: 6,939
  23. 1902: 7,945
  24. 1903: 7,649
  25. 1904: 8,148
  26. 1905: 8,102
  27. 1906: 8,307
  28. 1907: 9,048
  29. 1908: 9,401
  30. 1909: 9,657
  31. 1910: 12k
  32. 1911: 14k
  33. 1912: 25k
  34. 1913: 29k
  35. 1914: 38k
  36. 1915: 48k
  37. 1916: 50k
  38. 1917: 52k
  39. 1918: 57k
  40. 1919: 54k
  41. 1920: 57k
  42. 1921: 59k
  43. 1922: 58k
  44. 1923: 58k
  45. 1924: 59k
  46. 1925: 58k
  47. 1926: 56k
  48. 1927: 56k
  49. 1928: 54k
  50. 1929: 53k
  51. 1930: 53k
  52. 1931: 49k
  53. 1932: 49k
  54. 1933: 46k
  55. 1934: 47k
  56. 1935: 48k
  57. 1936: 48k
  58. 1937: 49k
  59. 1938: 51k
  60. 1939: 51k
  61. 1940: 55k
  62. 1941: 58k
  63. 1942: 66k
  64. 1943: 69k
  65. 1944: 67k
  66. 1945: 66k
  67. 1946: 79k
  68. 1947: 89k
  69. 1948: 83k
  70. 1949: 81k
  71. 1950: 80k
  72. 1951: 82k
  73. 1952: 83k
  74. 1953: 80k
  75. 1954: 81k
  76. 1955: 80k
  77. 1956: 81k
  78. 1957: 79k
  79. 1958: 76k
  80. 1959: 77k
  81. 1960: 76k
  82. 1961: 80k
  83. 1962: 79k
  84. 1963: 79k
  85. 1964: 83k
  86. 1965: 72k
  87. 1966: 65k
  88. 1967: 62k
  89. 1968: 61k
  90. 1969: 59k
  91. 1970: 59k
  92. 1971: 52k
  93. 1972: 43k
  94. 1973: 39k
  95. 1974: 38k
  96. 1975: 35k
  97. 1976: 34k
  98. 1977: 34k
  99. 1978: 34k
  100. 1979: 36k
  101. 1980: 36k
  102. 1981: 35k
  103. 1982: 35k
  104. 1983: 33k
  105. 1984: 33k
  106. 1985: 32k
  107. 1986: 30k
  108. 1987: 30k
  109. 1988: 30k
  110. 1989: 30k
  111. 1990: 29k
  112. 1991: 28k
  113. 1992: 26k
  114. 1993: 25k
  115. 1994: 24k
  116. 1995: 23k
  117. 1996: 22k
  118. 1997: 21k
  119. 1998: 21k
  120. 1999: 20k
  121. 2000: 20k
  122. 2001: 19k
  123. 2002: 17k
  124. 2003: 17k
  125. 2004: 17k
  126. 2005: 16k
  127. 2006: 15k
  128. 2007: 14k
  129. 2008: 13k
  130. 2009: 12k
  131. 2010: 12k
  132. 2011: 11k
  133. 2012: 11k
  134. 2013: 11k
  135. 2014: 11k
  136. 2015: 10k
  137. 2016: 10k
  138. 2017: 9,546
  139. 2018: 9,218
  140. 2019: 8,877
  141. 2020: 8,274
  142. 2021: 8,195
  143. 2022: 8,008
  144. 2023: 7,809
  145. 2024: 8,095
  146. 2025: 8,033

Most common surnames paired with John

Famous people named John

Linked from Wikidata. Click through for full biographies on Wikipedia.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are named John worldwide?

There are an estimated 7,900,000 people named John alive worldwide today, ranking #4 globally.

Is John a rare name?

Worldwide that works out to about 1 in 1,013 people. In the United States there are roughly 2,626,987 bearers, which is 1 in 126 Americans.

Is John a boy or girl name?

Based on historical birth records, John is used 99.6% male and 0.4% female.

Where does the name John come from?

Hebrew: Yochanan - 'graced by God'.

Who are famous people named John?

John Lennon - English musician (1940-1980). John F. Kennedy - 35th President of the United States (1917-1963).

Data sources

Every figure on this page is cited. See the methodology page for the full picture.

Last updated:

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