Joan

Did you know?

A few things about Joan you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Joan

Joan Baez

American contemporary folk musician (born 1941)

Choose Joan and your child shares a first name with Joan Baez, an American contemporary folk musician. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Joan, like who?” Joan Baez's Wikipedia article is available in 103 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Joan Baez on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Jtgphoto, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 7,364 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Joan, 232 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Joan would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryJoan has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Joans, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1935, when it reached #618.
• 🚀TrendJoan has climbed 150 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #984. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedJoan is most popular in Texas, where it ranks #566, followed by Arizona (#672) and Wisconsin (#678). It's in the top 1,000 in 10 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlJoan is given to both boys and girls: 51% of the 454 babies named Joan in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn English, Joan means “God is gracious”.

About the name Joan

Joan is a gender-neutral name meaning “God is gracious”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with J and ending in “-oan”. US birth records list Joan for boys from 1903 to 2025, in 115 of those 123 years. Its best year was 1935, when it ranked #618 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #984, with 232 babies. Of the 454 US babies named Joan in 2025, 49% were girls and 51% were boys.