Name Rarity Checker / How rare is John
How Rare Is the Name John?
John is about as common as an American name gets. It ranks 2nd of all time in U.S. records, with about 1 in 72 people sharing it, which puts it in the Very Common tier. It was most popular in the 1950s. Here is the full picture, decade by decade, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 72
- Tier
- Very Common
- U.S. rank
- 2nd
- Share of people
- 1.4%
- People named
- 5,196,210
- Most popular
- the 1950s
Based on U.S. births recorded by the Social Security Administration, 1880 to 2024. Figures describe recorded names, not people alive today.
About the name John
John is from the Hebrew Yochanan, meaning 'God is gracious.' It was the default English name for centuries, so ordinary that 'John Doe' became the placeholder for an unidentified man and 'Dear John' became the name of a breakup letter.
Want to check a different name? Try the Name Rarity Checker. First names are only half the picture: the surname rarity checker runs the same math on last names, using the Census surname file.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the name John?
- John is in the Very Common tier. About 1 in 72 people share it, which is 1.4% of all recorded U.S. names, and it ranks 2nd of all time. In total 5,196,210 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
- Is John a rare name?
- No. John is a well-known name rather than a rare one. It is in the Very Common tier, ranked 2nd of all time, with about 1 in 72 people sharing it.
- How common is the name John?
- About 1 in 72 people in U.S. records share the name John, which is 1.4% of all recorded names and 2nd of all time. That places it in the Very Common tier.
- Is John a boy or girl name?
- In the records, John is given almost entirely to boys. Of 5,196,210 people with the name, 21,740 were girls and 5,174,470 were boys.
- When was the name John most popular?
- John peaked in the 1950s. The bars on the card show its popularity for every decade from 1880 to 2024.