Girls' name · peaked in 1984
Joanna name popularity since 1925
108,892 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Joanna. Half of them were born in 1986 or earlier, so the typical Joanna is about 40 years old in 2026. Joanna peaked in 1984 as the #88 name for girls, and it ranked #306 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 108,892
- Named Joanna, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #306
- for girls in 2025 (997 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 108,586 girls · 306 boys
- Most popular in
- California
- 1.65× its national share
Peak year is the year Joanna made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Joanna births per year, 1925–2025
1984 was the biggest year for Joanna both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1979 and 1984, Joanna became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 1,160 baby girls to 1 in 505.
- Steepest fall: Between 1984 and 1989, its share of baby girls fell by 42%, from 1 in 505 to 1 in 871.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Joanna's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Joanna.
Decade by decade
Babies named Joanna in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 1,314 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 3,914 | 0 | #293 |
| 1940s | 4,709 | 0 | #333 |
| 1950s | 5,151 | 0 | #414 |
| 1960s | 9,196 | 12 | #293 |
| 1970s | 15,281 | 42 | #158 |
| 1980s | 22,216 | 154 | #99 |
| 1990s | 16,287 | 69 | #185 |
| 2000s | 12,970 | 24 | #284 |
| 2010s | 11,409 | 5 | #306 |
| 2020–25 | 6,139 | 0 | #306 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
30.3% of babies named Joanna from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Joanna is most popular
The index compares Joanna's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Joanna.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| California | 1.65× | 18,660 |
| Arizona | 1.24× | 1,722 |
| Texas | 1.20× | 10,029 |
| Nevada | 1.18× | 448 |
| New York | 1.17× | 9,483 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Joanna and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Joanna (this page) | 108,586 | 1984 |
| Johanna | 46,883 | 1883 |
| Joana | 7,901 | 2001 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Joanna's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Joanna.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Joanna (1984).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data