How Many People Are Named Joan?
An estimated 188,263 people in the United States have the first name Joan. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #286 overall. It is predominantly female (98.5%). The average bearer is 72 years old, and Joan peaked in popularity in 1932 with 21,132 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Joan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joan is overwhelmingly female, 7,469 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 72, Joan is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1964.
- Joan has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
188,263
About 1 in 1,821 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
98.5% confidence
Average Age
72
years old
Peak Year
1932
21,132 births
Total Registered
488,485
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joan
Joan is predominantly female (98.5%), though 7,469 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Joan as a male name
Ranked #1,013 in 2024
220 male births in 2024
Peak: 2002 (221 births)
Joan as a female name
Ranked #1,238 in 2024
188 female births in 2024
Peak: 1932 (21,044 births)
Joan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 174,219 babies were registered. Joan has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joan by Decade
How has Joan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 121 | 0 | 121 | |
| 1890s | 267 | 0 | 267 | |
| 1900s | 868 | 5 | 863 | |
| 1910s | 7,094 | 73 | 7,021 | |
| 1920s | 45,605 | 254 | 45,351 | |
| 1930s | 174,219 | 780 | 173,439 | |
| 1940s | 118,156 | 448 | 117,708 | |
| 1950s | 85,452 | 273 | 85,179 | |
| 1960s | 36,897 | 221 | 36,676 | |
| 1970s | 6,620 | 140 | 6,480 | |
| 1980s | 3,547 | 247 | 3,300 | |
| 1990s | 2,477 | 619 | 1,858 | |
| 2000s | 2,809 | 1,806 | 1,003 | |
| 2010s | 2,566 | 1,625 | 941 | |
| 2020s | 1,787 | 978 | 809 | |
Joan by State
Birth registrations for Joan span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 9,430 Joans were registered per state.
Joan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joan
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joan?
We estimate approximately 188,263 people named Joan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,821 Americans share this first name.
Is Joan a common name?
Joan is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 488,485 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joan most popular?
Joan reached peak popularity in 1932, when 21,132 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joan is approximately 72 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Joan a female name?
Joan is predominantly female. 98.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Joan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joan Smith, Joan Johnson, Joan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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