Johnny
A pet form of John, which comes through Latin and Greek from Hebrew Yochanan, meaning Yahweh is gracious. Both the Baptist and the evangelist carried the underlying name.
Johnny in 2025
Johnny was given to 690 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 917th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 4,805 babies born.
The history of Johnny
Johnny reached its highest point in 1947, when 7,497 babies were given the name, ranking 97th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 90th, in 1944.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 321,696 babies have been named Johnny. Half of them were born before 1959, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Johnny by decade
| Decade | Babies named Johnny | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 194 | 685 |
| 1890s | 326 | 718 |
| 1900s | 840 | 503 |
| 1910s | 4,042 | 430 |
| 1920s | 11,801 | 256 |
| 1930s | 25,011 | 133 |
| 1940s | 57,743 | 90 |
| 1950s | 66,415 | 103 |
| 1960s | 50,393 | 139 |
| 1970s | 32,420 | 150 |
| 1980s | 23,736 | 234 |
| 1990s | 18,611 | 257 |
| 2000s | 14,390 | 433 |
| 2010s | 11,337 | 516 |
| 2020s | 4,437 | 790 |
Where Johnny is heading
Johnny has fallen 41% over the past decade, from 1,160 babies in 2015 to 690 in 2025.
Names like Johnny
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Johnny.