Johnny
Johnny was given to 682 boys in 2025, #458 among boys’ names; 321,696 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 213,000 Americans named Johnny and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (66% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 39 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Johnny by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Johnny mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Johnny is “a diminutive of the male given name John.”
From John + -y. In the sense of an Englishman, compare John Bull.
/ˈd͡ʒɑn.i/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Johnny?
#458 among boys’ names, 2025
Johnny fell from #310 in 2015 to #458 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.60 to 0.40 per 1,000.
7,497 babies in 1947, the peak
Johnny peaked in 1947, when 7,497 babies were given it (7,441 boys, #49 among boys’ names). The 690 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 9% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 682 | #458 | 0.40 |
| 2024 | 685 | #456 | 0.40 |
| 2023 | 718 | #435 | 0.42 |
| 2022 | 800 | #401 | 0.46 |
| 2021 | 720 | #433 | 0.41 |
| 2020 | 793 | #388 | 0.46 |
| 2019 | 848 | #375 | 0.47 |
| 2018 | 941 | #352 | 0.52 |
| 2017 | 974 | #346 | 0.53 |
| 2016 | 1,038 | #335 | 0.55 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,153 | #310 | 0.60 |
| 2014 | 1,186 | #300 | 0.62 |
| 2013 | 1,330 | #267 | 0.70 |
| 2012 | 1,243 | #281 | 0.66 |
| 2011 | 1,252 | #282 | 0.66 |
| 2010 | 1,294 | #267 | 0.67 |
| 2009 | 1,349 | #256 | 0.68 |
| 2008 | 1,477 | #246 | 0.72 |
| 2007 | 1,507 | #241 | 0.73 |
| 2006 | 1,461 | #237 | 0.71 |
| 2005 | 1,397 | #241 | 0.70 |
| 2004 | 1,317 | #251 | 0.66 |
| 2003 | 1,370 | #246 | 0.69 |
| 2002 | 1,439 | #235 | 0.74 |
| 2001 | 1,540 | #225 | 0.79 |
| 2000 | 1,464 | #235 | 0.75 |
| 1999 | 1,496 | #226 | 0.78 |
| 1998 | 1,486 | #216 | 0.78 |
| 1997 | 1,469 | #211 | 0.78 |
| 1996 | 1,612 | #193 | 0.85 |
| 1995 | 1,688 | #186 | 0.89 |
| 1994 | 1,949 | #165 | 1.0 |
| 1993 | 1,964 | #165 | 1.0 |
| 1992 | 2,097 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1991 | 2,246 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1990 | 2,481 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1989 | 2,299 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 2,268 | #129 | 1.2 |
| 1987 | 2,202 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1986 | 2,205 | #125 | 1.2 |
| 1985 | 2,208 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1984 | 2,271 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1983 | 2,361 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | 2,492 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1981 | 2,556 | #113 | 1.4 |
| 1980 | 2,641 | #113 | 1.5 |
| 1979 | 2,448 | #111 | 1.4 |
| 1978 | 2,555 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1977 | 2,801 | #93 | 1.7 |
| 1976 | 2,874 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1975 | 2,969 | #86 | 1.9 |
| 1974 | 3,169 | #83 | 2.0 |
| 1973 | 3,267 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1972 | 3,564 | #74 | 2.2 |
| 1971 | 3,939 | #74 | 2.2 |
| 1970 | 4,438 | #65 | 2.4 |
| 1969 | 4,219 | #67 | 2.4 |
| 1968 | 4,050 | #69 | 2.3 |
| 1967 | 4,169 | #70 | 2.4 |
| 1966 | 4,363 | #73 | 2.4 |
| 1965 | 4,687 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1964 | 5,069 | #74 | 2.5 |
| 1963 | 5,420 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1962 | 5,777 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 1961 | 5,905 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 6,184 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1959 | 6,311 | #64 | 3.0 |
| 1958 | 6,330 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1957 | 6,507 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1956 | 6,636 | #55 | 3.1 |
| 1955 | 6,620 | #55 | 3.2 |
| 1954 | 6,613 | #54 | 3.2 |
| 1953 | 6,717 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1952 | 6,771 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1951 | 6,700 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1950 | 6,581 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1949 | 6,968 | #49 | 3.9 |
| 1948 | 6,862 | #52 | 3.9 |
| 1947 | 7,441 | #49 | 4.1 |
| 1946 | 6,611 | #47 | 4.1 |
| 1945 | 5,699 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1944 | 5,661 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1943 | 5,381 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1942 | 4,588 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1941 | 3,983 | #55 | 3.2 |
| 1940 | 4,006 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1939 | 3,371 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1938 | 3,197 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1937 | 2,826 | #69 | 2.6 |
| 1936 | 2,729 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1935 | 2,533 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1934 | 2,336 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1933 | 2,053 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1932 | 2,011 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1931 | 1,718 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 1930 | 1,822 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1929 | 1,532 | #113 | 1.4 |
| 1928 | 1,529 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1927 | 1,350 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1926 | 1,289 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1925 | 1,167 | #142 | 1.0 |
| 1924 | 1,046 | #152 | 0.92 |
| 1923 | 976 | #159 | 0.89 |
| 1922 | 862 | #170 | 0.79 |
| 1921 | 824 | #175 | 0.75 |
| 1920 | 767 | #184 | 0.72 |
| 1919 | 660 | #193 | 0.67 |
| 1918 | 644 | #199 | 0.64 |
| 1917 | 530 | #211 | 0.57 |
| 1916 | 458 | #232 | 0.51 |
| 1915 | 417 | #237 | 0.49 |
| 1914 | 331 | #234 | 0.51 |
| 1913 | 263 | #231 | 0.51 |
| 1912 | 217 | #239 | 0.50 |
| 1911 | 147 | #204 | 0.65 |
| 1910 | 167 | #173 | 0.86 |
| 1909 | 117 | #190 | 0.71 |
| 1908 | 107 | #194 | 0.69 |
| 1907 | 97 | #199 | 0.66 |
| 1906 | 84 | #212 | 0.63 |
| 1905 | 83 | #210 | 0.63 |
| 1904 | 77 | #209 | 0.60 |
| 1903 | 59 | #236 | 0.49 |
| 1902 | 70 | #214 | 0.57 |
| 1901 | 48 | #252 | 0.45 |
| 1900 | 72 | #240 | 0.48 |
| 1899 | 36 | #292 | 0.34 |
| 1898 | 39 | #298 | 0.32 |
| 1897 | 31 | #335 | 0.27 |
| 1896 | 38 | #302 | 0.32 |
| 1895 | 35 | #306 | 0.30 |
| 1894 | 29 | #334 | 0.25 |
| 1893 | 21 | #395 | 0.19 |
| 1892 | 33 | #324 | 0.27 |
| 1891 | 31 | #301 | 0.31 |
| 1890 | 23 | #374 | 0.21 |
| 1889 | 20 | #410 | 0.18 |
| 1888 | 21 | #409 | 0.17 |
| 1887 | 31 | #302 | 0.31 |
| 1886 | 23 | #361 | 0.21 |
| 1885 | 21 | #389 | 0.19 |
| 1884 | 15 | #498 | 0.13 |
| 1883 | 14 | #489 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 16 | #460 | 0.14 |
| 1881 | 13 | #495 | 0.13 |
| 1880 | 20 | #387 | 0.18 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Johnny a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 321,696 Americans recorded as Johnny, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 8 girls and 682 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Johnny: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Johnny, and how old are they?
213,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 66% of the 321,696 Americans ever recorded as Johnny. The median Johnny alive today is 59 years old; half are between 39 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 183,104 people named Johnny (1,235 women and girls, 181,869 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 231,898 born in the U.S. The Census count is 21% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 14,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 80,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 49,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 33,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 22,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 11,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Johnny born?
The states with the most babies named Johnny are Texas, California and Georgia, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 45,147 | #365 | 2.1× |
| California | 31,013 | #308 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 22,526 | #733 | 2.6× |
| North Carolina | 19,103 | #399 | 2.0× |
| Alabama | 17,239 | #470 | 2.6× |
| Tennessee | 15,414 | #293 | 2.1× |
| Mississippi | 13,268 | #447 | 2.7× |
| Florida | 12,894 | #482 | 1.4× |
| South Carolina | 11,772 | #523 | 2.3× |
| Louisiana | 11,498 | #469 | 1.8× |
Where Johnny is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Johnny is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Johnny with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 510,696 babies since 1880, Johnny is the most given (63% of them). In 2025 it was given to 690 of their 872 babies (79%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Johnny
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Johnny and names like it
- Compare Johnny and JohnnieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sJohnny peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Johnny since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Johnny.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Johnny alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with JMost given first.