Humanverse

Johanna vs Johnbenedict

American parents have registered 54,376 Johannas since 1880, against 14 Johnbenedicts. Johanna is still ahead, with 309 babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Johanna against Johnbenedict, 1880 to 2025 0 250 500 750 1k 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Johanna Johnbenedict

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Johanna has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1880 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.

The closest they came was 2005, when Johanna had 778 and Johnbenedict had 14.

Side by side

  Johanna Johnbenedict
Total US births 54,37614
Most in one year 92914
Babies in 2025 309under 5
Estimated living today 41,00014
Median age today 3520
Peak year 19842005
Best rank 265th girls5,578th boys
Rank in 2025 869thunranked
First recorded 18802005
Girls / boys 54,247 / 1290 / 14

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Johannas alive today are over 35; half the Johnbenedicts are over 20. That is 15 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Johanna and Johnbenedict.