Joao is the Portuguese form of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan, "God is gracious", written João in Portugal and Brazil, where it has been one of the most common boys' names for centuries. Several kings of Portugal bore it, and it came to the United States with Brazilian and Portuguese immigrant families. Joao has never entered the US top 1000, but it has risen from number 2882 in 2015 to number 1391 in 2024 and stands at number 1471 in 2025.