Gianna is an Italian short form of Giovanna, the feminine of Giovanni, and so shares the meaning of John: "God is gracious". The name was long typical of Italian-American families before it spread more widely. In the United States Gianna sat at number 240 in 2000 and in the top 100 from 2006 on; after the death of Kobe Bryant's daughter Gianna in January 2020 it leapt from number 79 to number 13 that year, and it ranks number 33 among girls in 2025.