How to say it
jo · AN · na
/dʒoʊˈæn.ə/
Feminine
Joanna
God is gracious
What it means
A feminine form of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan, 'God is gracious,' by way of the Greek Ioanna.
Joanna is one of the feminine forms of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan, 'God is gracious.' In Luke's Gospel, Joanna is one of the women who followed Jesus and found the empty tomb, which made it an early Christian name. It is a warm, classic choice that hands you the friendly shorts Jo and Anna and sits beside Jane and Joan in the John family. Johanna is the Germanic spelling.
Popularity over time
peaked at #88 in 1984, currently #306 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Jo and Anna both drop out of it naturally.
- Spelling
Joanna, Johanna, and the Italian Giovanna are the same name across languages.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Joanna a follower of Jesus named in the Gospel of Luke
- Joanna Lumley English actress (Absolutely Fabulous)
Spelling variants
- Johanna
- Joana
- Giovanna
Names with the same feeling
See Joanna from another angle
By meaning
By style