Girl & boy name
Joan
Joan holds the #984 spot on the 2025 list of the most popular boy names in the U.S. That amounts to 232 newborn boys in a single year. After peaking all the way back in 1935, Joan is staging a comeback — its rank has improved for at least three years in a row. Its strongest year on record was 1935 (#618 nationally, 90 newborns), in a data series reaching back to 1903. The name's biggest fan base is in Texas (#566 there in 2025).
Rankings
Joan popularity, 1880–2025
Where Joan is most popular
Uniqueness score
Well known, but far from crowded — the middle of the field. Based on how many babies per birth were named Joan in the most recent year of SSA data.
Joan as a girl name
As of 2025, Joan ranks #1085 among American girls' names, according to Social Security records. 222 girls received the name that year. Here's the interesting part: Joan peaked in 1931, faded, and is now climbing again — a classic comeback pattern. SSA records for Joan go back to 1880; the peak came in 1931 at #5, with 19,119 babies named that year. Geographically, it's strongest in Connecticut, where it ranks #540 among girl names.