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John

“God is gracious” — Hebrew via Greek, Latin, and Old French origin

Boy's name · #23 in the US (2025) · Timeless

John has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #1 (1880) · 5,182,633 babies named John all-time · 1 in 210 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: #29 in Ireland (2025) · #67 in N. Ireland (2025) · #73 in Canada (2024) · #89 in New Zealand (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Johns

• John F. Kennedy — president of the United States from 1961 to 1963 (1917–1963)
• John Locke — English philosopher and physician (1632-1704)
• John Paul II — 264th pope of the Catholic Church (1978–2005)
• John Adams — Founding Father, U.S. president from 1797 to 1801
• John Maynard Keynes — British economist (1883–1946)

In stories & tradition

• John the Apostle — Gospel of Matthew · Gospel of Mark
• John (Tarzan) — Tarzan · Tarzan and the Lion Man
• John (Dr. Watson) — canon of Sherlock Holmes · Sherlockiana

What Johns become

Among 66,487 notable people named John:

Military figures appear 2.22× more often than among typical names — e.g. John J. Pershing, United States Army general in World War I.

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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