NAME MEANING (What does John name mean?)

Name: John
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: God is Gracious

Biblical: the name of the longest-lived of the 12 apostles, who was especially loved by Christ. Also the name of John the Baptist, who baptized Christ in the Jordan river. Dozens of variant forms, given names and surnames, male and female, have been created in almost every language. For a few examples, Jan is a Dutch and Slavic form; Janos is Czech; Joao is Portuguese; and the Johan variants are German and Swiss. Possibly the most popular name in history; kings, popes, saints, heroes, villains, and men of every degree between have borne the name. A contemporary trend seems to be building to hyphenate Joh, Jean, Jon, Sean, and Shawn with various other names. Actors John Gielgud, John Barrymore, John Wayne, John Cusack, John Leguizamo, Johnny Depp; U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy, John Tyler, John Adams, John Quincy Adams; poet John Donne; Beatle John Lennon; composer Johannes Bach; football player John Elway; lawyer Johnnie Cochrane.

Popularity: The name John ranked 2 out of 1219 (Top 1%) as a first name for males of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. The name John ranked 1172 out of 88799 (Top 1%) as a surname for males and females of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census.