Joanna

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Johanna in NL Netherlands, AT Austria, SE Sweden and 7 more, Jana in CZ Czechia, US United States, DE Germany and 7 more, Яна in RU Russia, UA Ukraine, KZ Kazakhstan and 2 more and Yana in IN India, BR Brazil, BG Bulgaria.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 25 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Joanna is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name1.6M records spelled Joanna73 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Philippines

  Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Joeanna, Jo-Anna, Jo'Anna, Joe-Anna, Joänna

• a separate given name60K records spelled Joanna2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Jo-Anna

• Indonesian given name18K records spelled Joanna5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Philippines, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Jo-Anna, Jöanńä

• English given name2.8K records spelled Joanna71 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Finland, Denmark, Philippines

  Languages: English, Finnish, Danish

  Also written Jonna, Joana, Joenna, เปียโน, Piano

• Korean given name1.8K records spelled Joanna5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Korea, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Jhoanna, 조안나, 조애나, Joannna

• a separate given name1.1K records spelled Joanna2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Philippines

  Also written J̶o̶a̶n̶n̶a̶

77 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Joanna is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The name Joanna is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh), which means 'Yahweh has been gracious'.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Joanna represents faithful discipleship, service, and the crucial role of women in Jesus's ministry and the early church. As one of the Myrrhbearers and a primary witness to the empty tomb, she is a key figure in the resurrection narrative, demonstrating courage and devotion by supporting Jesus publicly and seeking to care for his body after his crucifixion.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In Irish, Form of Joan; once fairly popular, now given way to Joanne.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In Polish, a female given name from Latin [in turn from Koine Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Jane, Joan, or Joanna

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, A piano.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Joanna la Beltranejab. 1462ESCastillian infanta and queen, queen consort of Portugal
• Joanna Pettetb. 1942GBBritish-born Canadian actress (1942–2026)
• Joanna Cassidyb. 1945USAmerican actress
• Joanna Lumleyb. 1946GBBritish actress and former model
• Joanna Goingb. 1963USAmerican actress
• Jennifer Anistonb. 1969USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (born 1969)
• Elizabeth Mitchellb. 1970USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Joanna Angelb. 1980USAmerican pornographic actress and director
• JoJob. 1990USnot in their usual nameAmerican singer and actress
• Emily Careyb. 2003GBnot in their usual nameBritish actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,198 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Joanna?

We estimate roughly 1.6 million people bear Joanna (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Joanna have the most bearers?

Joanna is most frequently recorded in Russia, where it is most often spelled яна.

Where is Joanna most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Joanna is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 20 people — even though Russia holds more of our records for it.

How common is Joanna compared with other names?

In Russia, Joanna is the 77th most common given name of 418,751 given names recorded there.

Is Joanna a male or female name?

Joanna is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Joanna mean?

Recorded meaning: Joanna is a classic biblical name meaning 'God is gracious'.