Jovonna
Of unknown origin, potentially a unique feminine name.
Name Census estimates that about 395 living Americans carry the first name Jovonna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jovonna today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jovonna births was 1990 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jovonna. 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.
People living today
395
~ 1 in 867,733 Americans
Peak year
1990
23 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,536
Tracked since 1956
Census
Jovonna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 375 people with the first name Jovonna, which placed it at #25,327 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
#25,327
National first-name rank
People counted
375
375 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
55.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jovonna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jovonna is Black at 55.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Hispanic (11.2%). 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 Jovonna 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 Jovonna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.2% · 207
- White25.6% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 42
- Two or more races4.3% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
Popularity
Jovonna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jovonna from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 132 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Jovonna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jovonna 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 Jovonna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jovonnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jovonna
The name Jovonna is believed to have its origins in the Latin language, with roots dating back to ancient Rome. It is thought to be a feminine variation of the name Jovan, which itself is derived from the Latin name Iovanus or Jovanus, meaning "of Jupiter" or "belonging to Jupiter." Jupiter was the supreme deity in Roman mythology, associated with thunder, lightning, and the skies.
In its earliest known uses, the name Jovonna appeared as a variant spelling of the more common form, Jovana or Iovana. These variants were popular names among the lower classes in ancient Rome, particularly in the regions surrounding the Italian peninsula.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some historians believe that variations of the name may have been used by early Christian communities in recognition of the connection to the Roman god Jupiter, who was often associated with the Christian concept of a supreme, all-powerful deity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jovonna dates back to the 5th century AD, when a woman by that name was mentioned in a legal document from the city of Ravenna, in modern-day Italy. This document suggests that the name was in use among the local population at that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jovonna. For example, Jovonna Ketchum (1523-1589) was a renowned herbalist and midwife who practiced in the English countryside during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Her writings on traditional medicine and childbirth practices were widely circulated and influential in her time.
Another notable figure was Jovonna di Montalto (1677-1749), an Italian painter and sculptor who gained recognition for her religious works and portrait busts. Her artwork can still be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy.
In the 19th century, Jovonna Whitaker (1822-1892) was a prominent American educator and activist who campaigned for women's rights and the abolition of slavery. She established several schools for underprivileged children in the southern United States and was a vocal supporter of the women's suffrage movement.
Jovonna Aaronson (1902-1987) was a Swedish-born physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. She was one of the first women to be elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and played a crucial role in the development of nuclear reactors during the mid-20th century.
More recently, Jovonna Braswell (1958-present) is an American author and playwright whose works explore themes of identity, race, and the African-American experience. Her award-winning plays have been performed in theaters across the United States and have garnered critical acclaim for their powerful storytelling and cultural significance.
People
Jovonna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jovonna 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
Jovonna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jovonna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 395 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jovonna 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 867,733 US residents.
Is Jovonna a common name?
We classify Jovonna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 422 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jovonna most popular?
The single biggest year for Jovonna was 1990, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jovonna is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jovonna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 375 people with the name Jovonna, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,327 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 Jovonna 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 Jovonna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jovonna appears almost entirely female. Of the 381 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jovonna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jovonna is Black at 55.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Hispanic (11.2%). 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 Jovonna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jovonna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.2% (207 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 Jovonna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jovonna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jovonna 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 Jovonna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jovonna 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 Jovonna 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 Jovonna?
Find out how many Americans are named Jovonna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.