Girls' name · since 1880

Joanna

Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 111,761 babies named Joanna, peaking in 1984. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#344 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#306 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
111,761
born since 1880
1980s
peak decade

Joanna currently ranks #306 among girls' names in America, with 111,761 babies recorded since 1880.

Joanna has 111,761 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #306 as of the latest data, more common than 98% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #344 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #306 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 111,761 born since 1880
  • 1980s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Joanna ranks #344 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #306 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 111,761 born since 1880, peaking in the 1980s.

#344 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#306 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
111,761
born since 1880
1980s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%98.2%
Joanna vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Joanna's 111,761 recorded births place it above 99.52% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Joanna compares

111,761 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Joanna's all-time total is 297x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Joanna Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 111,761 376 567,345
Peak-year births 3,332 21 19,840

Joanna's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Joanna splits its recorded history at 1953: 87% of all births land in the more recent half, 13% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1882 (15 births) -- compare that against the 1984 peak of 3,332 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Joanna popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1984)
3,332
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
01,0002,0003,0004,000 188018991918193719561975199420132025 997

Joanna popularity over time - boys

306 total births recorded since 1967 (Joanna as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 306 births
0510152025 196719751980198419881992199920092014 5

Joanna by decade

1980s is the heaviest window (22,216 births, 20% of the file).

1980s was Joanna's strongest decade.

22,216 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.

Joanna births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1980s at 22,216 births (20% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Joanna compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Joanna's total volume

Joanna vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -89, 6.9%-146, 2.2%-71, 6.5%-146, 2.4%-110, 4.7%-125, 7.6%-125, 3.3%-126, 4.7%-75, 7.2%-146, 2.9%-50, 5%-146, 6.2%-126, 3.9%-146, 2.4%-112, 2.7%Joanna-146, 3%Joanna
Joanna vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Joanna by state

Where Joanna concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Joanna
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
18,608 16.6%
#2 Texas
10,084 9.0%
#3 New York
9,660 8.6%
#4 Illinois
5,601 5.0%
#5 Pennsylvania
5,089 4.6%
#6 Ohio
4,241 3.8%
#7 Florida
3,795 3.4%
#8 New Jersey
3,193 2.9%
California share of Joanna's total US births 16.6%
Even split

18,608 of 111,761 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Joanna appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Joanna?
Joanna has been given to 111,761 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #344 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #306 of 17,297. 3,332 babies were born in 1984, its single highest year.
Where does Joanna sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Joanna ranks #344 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #306 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Joanna most popular?
Joanna was most popular in the 1980s decade with 22,216 total births. The single peak year was 1984.
Where is Joanna most popular?
The top states for the name Joanna are California (18,608 births), Texas (10,084 births), New York (9,660 births).
How long has the name Joanna been used?
Records for Joanna go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Joanna?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Joan, Joanne, Joann, Joana, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Joanna's data

  • Joanna's decade-level peak was the 1980s (22,216 total births); usage has since declined to 6,139 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Joannas (18,608 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Joanna

Nearby Names Like Joanna

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Joanna

Names with a similar popularity rank to Joanna

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Joanna: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Joanna draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.