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John Name Popularity

    

Charts | Table | About | By Year

How popular is John?

In 2018 the very popular name John, ranked the 27th Most Popular Boys Name in the United States.

Presently one of the top 50 most popular, John has been a top 50 placer since the Social Security Administration began keeping records in 1880.

Position 1, its highest popularity RANKING, was reached for the first time in 1880 and as recently as 1923.

However, the name was bestowed upon the greatest number of babies in 1947 with 88,319 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named John was 6,900 in 1901.

Decidely upward trends in the number of babies given the name John occurred roughly during the years 1897-1900, 1905-1918, and 1939-1947, whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1955-1958, 1964-1976, 1980-1986, 1988-2012, and 2013-2016.

The popularity trend for John has steadily decreased for a while. Of late, continuing the trend, the number of parents selecting the name John for their newborn has dropped.

What does the future hold for the popularity of John?

Overall, when compared to its most prominent year, the name's popularity is at a very low point.

The name John is favored by many parents but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, John is much less frequently used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

 
Mouse over or Click for Percentages.
   John (Girl)John (Boy)
Year %No. of Babies Given NamePopul. RankNo. of Babies Given NamePopul. Rank
2018 13 8,287 9,119 27
2017 10 10,269 9,486 27
2016 12 9,100 10,013 28
2015 11 9,748 10,386 26
2014 14 8,235 10,691 26
2013 16 7,541 10,713 27
2012 11 10,017 10,621 28
2011 21 6,231 11,049 27
2010 10 10,772 11,556 26
2009 11 10,285 12,118 27
2008 22 6,236 13,315 20
2007 22 6,190 14,432 19
2006 35 4,203 15,166 19
2005 37 3,908 15,768 18
2004 71 2,404 16,449 18
2003 30 4,348 17,232 17
2002 21 5,557 17,455 17
2001 32 3,981 18,889 14
2000 27 4,465 20,096 14
1999 39 3,272 20,348 15
1998 27 4,179 20,627 15
1997 29 3,847 21,385 15
1996 37 3,176 22,182 15
1995 45 2,701 23,240 13
1994 48 2,603 24,179 15
1993 69 2,021 24,989 16
1992 56 2,334 26,242 14
1991 63 2,120 27,800 10
1990 81 1,786 29,077 12
1989 134 1,207 29,846 12
1988 167 988 29,404 11
1987 197 863 29,540 11
1986 220 774 30,207 10
1985 233 744 31,500 9
1984 237 703 32,617 8
1983 266 649 33,153 9
1982 234 730 34,705 8
1981 195 816 34,887 8
1980 251 689 35,279 8
1979 244 695 35,434 7
1978 222 711 34,037 7
1977 218 713 34,227 6
1976 210 703 34,006 6
1975 232 655 35,097 7
1974 253 616 37,638 6
1973 229 655 39,176 6
1972 224 668 43,181 5
1971 272 621 51,518 4
1970 290 601 58,525 4
1969 288 583 58,771 4
1968 304 557 60,929 3
1967 289 554 61,618 4
1966 284 565 65,032 4
1965 252 614 71,541 2
1964 264 622 82,533 2
1963 260 626 78,625 2
1962 284 588 78,429 3
1961 277 606 79,929 3
1960 242 651 76,093 4
1959 231 660 76,407 4
1958 207 686 75,991 5
1957 224 658 78,984 5
1956 224 638 80,790 5
1955 185 688 80,054 5
1954 184 690 81,165 4
1953 164 713 80,190 4
1952 198 626 83,138 3
1951 203 603 81,574 3
1950 179 640 79,424 3
1949 199 588 81,161 3
1948 192 605 82,829 3
1947 203 600 88,319 3
1946 208 548 79,261 3
1945 197 520 66,113 3
1944 180 540 66,610 3
1943 229 490 68,919 3
1942 241 474 66,027 3
1941 221 472 57,515 3
1940 208 463 54,779 3
1939 228 445 51,015 3
1938 216 457 50,519 3
1937 218 445 48,746 3
1936 203 446 47,669 3
1935 208 449 47,499 3
1934 257 408 46,734 3
1933 226 430 46,222 3
1932 298 374 48,617 3
1931 325 356 48,423 3
1930 402 327 52,434 3
1929 411 321 52,113 3
1928 424 322 53,755 2
1927 440 318 55,954 2
1926 385 339 56,110 2
1925 366 356 57,199 2
1924 383 346 59,055 2
1923 335 362 57,470 1
1922 285 385 57,277 1
1921 285 401 58,217 1
1920 281 395 56,913 1
1919 307 370 53,528 1
1918 248 419 56,558 1
1917 253 397 51,853 1
1916 227 411 50,043 1
1915 200 430 47,576 1
1914 169 408 37,948 1
1913 122 449 29,329 1
1912 112 446 24,587 1
1911 68 505 13,446 1
1910 88 422 11,450 1
1909 67 461 9,591 1
1908 58 475 9,342 1
1907 65 445 8,983 1
1906 43 531 8,265 1
1905 43 521 8,060 1
1904 40 524 8,108 1
1903 41 499 7,608 1
1902 38 521 7,907 1
1901 39 485 6,900 1
1900 46 502 9,829 1
1899 40 462 6,990 1
1898 55 416 8,159 1
1897 46 433 7,550 1
1896 50 408 8,138 1
1895 61 360 8,320 1
1894 60 362 8,238 1
1893 61 343 8,049 1
1892 54 363 9,039 1
1891 44 379 7,680 1
1890 56 344 8,502 1
1889 52 346 8,548 1
1888 52 333 9,247 1
1887 56 286 8,110 1
1886 48 300 9,026 1
1885 45 297 8,756 1
1884 40 309 9,388 1
1883 40 279 8,894 1
1882 40 278 9,557 1
1881 26 313 8,769 1
1880 46 229 9,655 1

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.