John is the English form of the Hebrew Yochanan and means "God is gracious" or "Yahweh has been gracious"; John the Baptist and John the Apostle made it the most widespread Christian name of all. It was the number one boys' name in the United States from the start of the records in 1880 until 1923 and belongs to four presidents. John was fourteenth in 2000 and ranks twenty-third in 2025, still in the top 30 after 145 years.