Name John

John is a masculine name with Hebrew, English origins. It is considered a ubiquitous name that has experienced moderate growth in popularity recently.

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Meaning of the name John

Origins and Core Meaning

John is a name of Hebrew origin, derived from the name "Yehohanan", which means "Yahweh is gracious". It has been a popular name throughout history, particularly in English-speaking countries. The name John is associated with strength, courage, and a strong sense of justice.

Detailed Insights on John

Origins

Hebrew, meaning "Yahweh is gracious" - It also carries influences from English.

Symbolic Representation

The name John is often associated with the symbol of the dove, which represents peace, love, and hope. It is also associated with the color blue, which is a calming and serene color.

Personality Traits

The name John evokes feelings of stability, reliability, and trustworthiness. It is a name that is often associated with successful and well-respected individuals. People with the name John are often seen as being kind, compassionate, and supportive.

Key Personality Traits

Personal Meanings of the Name John

  • The root of this word is Indo-European. It is a universal word and name and it means young, life, soul, love and...
    Etymology: Old English geong "youthful, young; recent, new, fresh," from Proto-Germanic *junga- (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian jung, Middle Dutch jonc, Dutch jong, Old High German and German jung), from PIE *yuwn-ko-, suffixed form of root *yeu- "vital force, youthful vigor" (source also of Sanskrit yuvan- "young; young man;" Avestan yuuanem, yunam "youth,"; Latin juvenis "young," iunior "younger, more young;" Lithuanian jaunas, Old Church Slavonic junu, Russian junyj "young,"; Welsh ieuanc "young").

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  • It is confusing when names like John, Jacob, Jonah, Joseph and Jude are referred to as biblical names.
    The letter J was the last to be added to the English alphabet. Some have said it wasn't in use in the English language until the 1500s. Indeed, it is so new to our language, that it has been said that only the letters Q, X and Z are found less often than J, in English words. Other sources indicate that J and Q are the least often found and are about equally so.
    When referring to biblical names, therefore, it would be useful to give the spellings for those names. As they were in biblical times. Without checking, my guess is than John may have been Yohanan.
    The letters I and J have had the same meaning, hence Ian and Ivan seem to derive from John.
    J may have come from the swash ordecorativestyle of the letter I, as seen in Roman numerals, e.g. XXIIJ rather than XXIII.

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  • The English name came as many- from a mistake. The Bible was first printed in Germany. When it was translated into English the name remained in the german form. So John should have been translated Ion since J is pronounced as I in german and h is silent.
    Ps: usually the simplest solution is the correct one;

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John Overview & Analysis

Gender statistics

John is predominantly a boy's name with a strong masculine identity. Among 5,145,315 people named John, 5,129,628 are male and 15,687 are female resulting in a 99.7% male distribution. This pronounced gender imbalance underscores the name John's strong masculine identity.

Data Explanation

This data is sourced from actual birth records, ensuring that the statistics provided are accurate reflections of real naming trends. The percentage has been rounded up for easier readability, but the underlying figures are grounded in factual data, not estimates. This ensures that the information is both reliable and user-friendly, giving a clear and truthful picture of the name John's gender association.

Popularity

John classified as an ubiquitous name and ranks 2 in the Namedary database. It has experienced moderate growth over the years, and experienced moderate growth recently. The chance of meeting someone named John is nearly 1.5%, or about one in 69+ people.

Popularity and Usage Trends for John

Based on the latest data from 2021 (57,610), 2022 (54,574), 2023 (8,231), John's year-to-year percentage change in popularity is -2.75%. The name John was most popular in 1947, making up 2.58% of baby names (or about one in 39 babies), and reached its lowest point in 2022 with a usage rate of 0.23%.

Country-Specific Prevalence
John Popularity by Country
FlagCountryRankPopularity
New Zealand11.8%
Canada11.4%
United States21.5%
Australia51.2%
United Kingdom730.28%

People named John are predominantly found in New Zealand (NZ), where it constitutes 1.8% of the total population.

Data Source

The data in this section was gathered from a variety of sources, including:

To enhance readability, percentages are rounded up. Values less than 0.0015% have been omitted.

Additional Information on John

Pronunciation and Phonetics

Name
John
Pronunciation
  • j-aw-n
  • jahn
  • JAWN
  • john
  • jun
IPA Notation
ʤɑˈn
Syllable
John in Numerology
John: Name to Numerology Conversion
JOHN
6
185

Applying the rules of numerology (Pythagorean numerology):

John's Soul Number (Heart's Desire Number): Number 6

  • You embrace your true self while nurturing others, caring for, and being close to those you love.
  • You aspire to bring love, beauty, and harmony into the world so that everyone can feel happy, loved, and healed.
  • You are driven by beauty, love, family, relationships, and serving and caring for others.

John's Expression Number (Personality Number): Number 5

  • You have a need to express yourself and break free from financial limitations. Your body is capable of great things.
  • You are often misunderstood, shy, or embarrassed. You should find comfortable and free jobs. The friends you hang out with feel happy, comfortable, not tied down, and not bound by rules.

John's Destiny Number (Life Path Number): Number 2

  • You are diplomatic, calm, skillful, convincing, a good listener, caring, and loving towards others.
  • You have an innate ability to persuade, are clever, and can approach problem-solving with a calm demeanor.
Famous People Named John
  • John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
  • John Lennon, musician and peace activist
  • John Wayne, actor and icon of the American West
  • John Muir, naturalist and conservationist
  • John Smith, explorer and founder of the Jamestown colony

User-Submitted Information about John

  • John Brown (1800-1859) was a passionate American abolitionist in the years leading up to the Civil War.

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  • John Matthew Heard Jr. was an American film and television actor. He was probably best known for his lead roles in several films, including Chilly Scenes of Winter, Heart Beat, Cutter's Way, Cat People, and C.H.U.D., as well as supporting roles in After Hours, Big, Beaches, Awakenings, Rambling Rose, The Pelican Brief, My Fellow Americans, Snake Eyes, and Animal Factory. He also played Peter McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, as well as appearing in Sharknado. Heard was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for guest starring on The Sopranos.

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  • John Rykener, known also as Johannes Richer and Eleanor, was a 14th-century transvestite prostitute working mainly in London, but also active in Oxford. He was arrested in 1395 for cross-dressing and interrogated. The records have survived, the only surviving legal records from that age which mentions same-sex intercourse.

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Conclusion

The name John is a timeless and classic name that has been a favorite throughout history. It is a name that is associated with positive qualities such as strength, courage, and kindness. If you are looking for a name for your son that is both meaningful and memorable, John is a great choice.

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