Joany
A diminutive feminine form of Joan, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Joany. It is a predominantly female name (92.2% of registrations). The average person named Joany today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joany births was 1985 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joany. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Joany. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
1985
11 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2005 SSA rank
#12,285
Tracked since 1958
Census
Joany in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 346 people with the first name Joany, which placed it at #26,749 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,749
National first-name rank
People counted
346
346 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joany
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joany is Hispanic at 65.6%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Black (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joany described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Joany at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino65.6% · 227
- White24.6% · 85
- Black or African American4.3% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 10
- Two or more races2.6% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Joany
Joany leans heavily female at 92.2% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Joany as a male name
- Ranked #12,285 in 2005
- 5 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (5 births)
Joany as a female name
- Ranked #16,640 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1985 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Joany on both sides of the split. Of the 344 people counted with this name, 78 were male (22.7%) and 266 were female (77.3%).
Popularity
Joany: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joany from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 32 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joany by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Joany during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joany
The name Joany is a feminine given name that has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a variant spelling of the name Joanna, which is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is merciful." This name has been in use since ancient times, with biblical references dating back to the New Testament.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joany is found in the Gospel of Luke, where it refers to a woman named Joanna who was among the followers of Jesus Christ. This Joanna is believed to have been the wife of Chuza, a steward of King Herod Antipas, and she is mentioned as one of the women who provided for Jesus and his disciples from her own resources.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Joany or its variants. One of the most famous was Joany of Navarre (1370-1437), a Navarrese princess who served as the Queen of England and the Duchess of Brittany during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. She played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between England and France during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable Joany was Joany of Arc (1412-1431), a French peasant girl who became a national heroine for her role in leading the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War. Despite her military success, she was eventually captured, tried for heresy, and executed by burning at the stake at the young age of 19.
In the realm of literature, Joany Rowling (1965-), the acclaimed British author best known for the Harry Potter book series, is a prominent figure. Her full name at birth was Joanne Rowling, but she adopted the gender-neutral pen name "J.K. Rowling" to avoid potential gender bias in the publishing industry.
Another notable Joany was Joany Baez (1941-), an American folk singer, songwriter, and activist who was a prominent figure in the American folk music revival of the 1960s. She was known for her powerful vocals and her advocacy for civil rights, non-violence, and social justice causes.
The name Joany has also been used in various works of fiction, such as the character of Joany Tench in the British television series "Silk," and Joany Oldfield in the novel "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides. These fictional characters have helped to keep the name in circulation and contribute to its cultural significance.
People
Joany + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joany as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joany: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joany?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joany going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Joany a common name?
We classify Joany as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joany most popular?
The single biggest year for Joany was 1985, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joany is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joany in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 346 people with the name Joany, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,749 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Joany in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joany?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Joany on both sides of the split. Of the 344 people counted with this name, 78 were male (22.7%) and 266 were female (77.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joany?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joany is Hispanic at 65.6%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Black (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Joany most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Joany in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (227 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Joany in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joany a female name?
Yes, 92.2% of people registered as Joany in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Joany still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joany in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Joany can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Joany?
You can see how many Americans are named Joany on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.