The story in the numbers

317,213 boys have been named Johnny in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1947, with 7,442 births — 0.41% of all boys recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 300 → 458).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1959, and the 1950s alone account for 21%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 46 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 3,770 girls have also been given it, 1.2% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

By decade

Decade

boys named Johnny

194

316

814

3,834

11,342

24,595

57,199

65,786

49,839

32,026

23,502

18,484

14,319

11,254

3,709

In 1947, its biggest year

Johnny was the 49th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1947 were James, Robert, John, William and Richard. See all of 1947.

Names that rose and fell with Johnny

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.