# Why don't people name their sons "John" anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648 "2023-03-03T12:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/21 "2023-03-03T15:47:24Z")
We named our children Catherine, Elizabeth, and Matthew in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Even then, people were giving us crap about giving our children “old fashioned” names. I have no regrets, and our children love their names. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/22 "2023-03-03T22:57:37Z")
The really old fashioned names are making a big comeback, especially for girls. In recent years, I’ve seen Beatrice (that name was on the rise even before the “Divergent” series came out), Lola (my grandmother’s name), Mabel, Hattie, Sadie, Gertrude, Helen, Dorothy, Evelyn, Iris, and I’m sure I can come up with some others. My 22-year-old niece would probably have been named John if she’d been a boy. Her name is Zoe, and when “Lola” heard about it, she said, “Well, I guess you can’t please everybody!” She lived in a rural area all her life and had never seen the name, and said to me, “What kind of a name is that, anyway? What are they going to do when that poor child starts school?” Okay, I won’t go into the details about school, but that turned out to be the least of their worries, and anyway, I told Grandma, “The name is Greek, and she may well be one of 2 or 3 girls in her class with that name.” ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/23 "2023-03-03T23:00:40Z")
Is everyone conflating “John” and “Jonathan”? There are, in my experience, a whole lot of the latter, but they don’t tend to shorten it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/24 "2023-03-03T23:12:03Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Is everyone conflating “John” and “Jonathan”? I’m certainly not; the Social security sites I shared in my earlier posts break them out separately: - 1960s: John was #3, Jonathan was #76 - 2010s: John was #26, Jonathan was #42 So, Jonathan became more popular, while John became less popular, but overall, in the US, there are still more Johns being born than Jonathans. > [@](#): > > There are, in my experience, a whole lot of the latter, but they don’t tend to shorten it. I’m friends with a few, and it’s a mix between Jonathans and Jons. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/25 "2023-03-03T23:15:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “John” was the 27th most popular male baby name in 2021, down from its peak of 14th in 2001. John probably does better if you average over a longer period. Some names become popular because a certain celebrity has them. Those are likely fads that only persist for a few years and then drop off the map. John likely has more staying power, even if it’s far down from the top spots most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/26 "2023-03-03T23:35:01Z")
They’re probably all named J’on, Jhan, Gjiahn, and Ja’an now. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/27 "2023-03-03T23:53:57Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > They’re probably all named J’on Or the variant J’onn. The DC Comics character, Martian Manhunter, has the real name of J’onn Jonzz (“John Jones”). [![](https://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Martian-Manhunter-DC-Comics-JSA.jpg) ](https://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Martian-Manhunter-DC-Comics-JSA.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/28 "2023-03-04T00:07:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Unless he has an outrageously unique surname, a John will have a hell of a time Googling himself. One of my uncles was a Wiiliam. If you google William OurLastName, you only get him. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/29 "2023-03-04T00:11:03Z")
OurLastName _is_ an outrageously unique surname. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/30 "2023-03-04T02:46:37Z")
This site is useful to track the popularity of names graphically. > **[NameGrapher](https://namerology.com/baby-name-grapher/)** > > Explore the historical popularity of United States baby names Start typing in the lefthand text box and the graph will update. Click the option buttons for different types of results.Tips: Be sure to check out both the “total” and “compare” views,... John definitely fell off beginning in the ‘60 … which seems weird given the popularity of JFK. One pattern that I notice in general is that first generation immigrants tend to pick what they perceive as very assimilated names. The next generation, comfortably assimilated, often returns to names that are of their cultural heritage. Maybe not coincidentally as John went down, Sean and Giovanni and others went up. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/31 "2023-03-04T19:10:48Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Unless he has an outrageously unique surname, a John will have a hell of a time Googling himself. I have a very unusual surname. I just googled myself - I’m hits numbers 1 and 4. j ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/32 "2023-03-04T19:15:35Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > John definitely fell off beginning in the ‘60 … which seems weird given the popularity of JFK. When I look at that chart, for John, the name was slowly dropping off (as far as number of births) from the 1910s on, then peaked a bit the 1940s, then resumed a slow drop-off – though, it did bump up a little bit in the 1960s, compared to the 1950s. It wouldn’t surprise me if the little bump in the 1960s was due to JFK. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/33 "2023-03-04T19:26:45Z")
without checking it … my a priori guess is that Mary does fare similarly … both names ring “The Waltons” to me (FWIW: I’m non-american, non-native-speaker) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/34 "2023-03-04T21:41:18Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > without checking it … my a priori guess is that Mary does fare similarly … Even more so than John. According to the links I shared above, from the U.S. Social Security Administration: - Mary was the #2 girls name (behind only Lisa) for girls born in the U.S. in the 1960s - It’s all the way down at #127 for girls born in the U.S. in the 2010s ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/35 "2023-03-04T21:57:44Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Yes, but going from #1 to #27 is pretty precipitous. The percentage of baby boys being named John has dropped from 5% to under 0.5% in three generations. I am not so sure it was #1, I remember searching out most popular names for boys a couple decades ago, and it was Dave or David. ([Top names of the 2010s](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names2010s.html)) 2010- Noah. 2000- Jacob 90’s- Michael 80s- same 70s- same 60s - same 50’s- James 40s- same and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/36 "2023-03-04T22:04:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I am not so sure it was #1 John was the #1 boys’ name in the [1900s](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1900s.html) (i.e., 1900-1909) and [1910s](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1910s.html). It dropped to #2 in the [1920s](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1920s.html), then to #3 in the [1930s](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1930s.html). So, yeah, it dropped from #1 to #27, **over the course of 100 years**. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/37 "2023-03-04T22:12:54Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > We named our children Catherine, Elizabeth, and Matthew in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Good choices, with lots of varied nicknames which allows the child to kinda pick their own moniker. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/38 "2023-03-04T22:42:50Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > OurLastName _is_ an outrageously unique surname. I know my mom’s maiden name is rare, but I looked it up, and one site said only one in 12 million people have that name. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Mary was the #2 girls name (behind only Lisa) for girls born in the U.S. in the 1960s Mary used to be super popular. It’s interesting to watch old movies, because the characters have such boring names. Lots of Marys and Anns, etc. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/39 "2023-03-04T22:47:03Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > …though, it did bump up a little bit in the 1960s, compared to the 1950s. It wouldn’t surprise me if the little bump in the 1960s was due to JFK. Indeed my friend John, mentioned above, who was born in 1964, was named after JFK. And his middle name Kenneth was selected in part because it sounded like “Kennedy” (and IIRC in part because his mother, though Mexican-American, had an affinity for Scotland). ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648/40 "2023-03-04T22:59:10Z")
I knew a girl named Jonna. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-name-their-sons-john-anymore/980648.md?page=3)