Humanverse

Johnie vs Johnmichael

American parents have registered 26,074 Johnies since 1880, against 2,285 Johnmichaels. But in 2025 it was Johnmichael that was commoner, 26 babies to 15.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Johnie against Johnmichael, 1880 to 2025 0 250 500 750 1k 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Johnie Johnmichael

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Johnie for 102 years and Johnmichael for 44 years. The lead changed hands once.

Side by side

  Johnie Johnmichael
Total US births 26,0742,285
Most in one year 85472
Babies in 2025 1526
Estimated living today 4,9002,200
Median age today 6926
Peak year 19201995
Best rank 190th boys1,393rd boys
Rank in 2025 7,679th4,050th
First recorded 18801969
Girls / boys 5,144 / 20,9300 / 2,285

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Johnies alive today are over 69; half the Johnmichaels are over 26. That is 43 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Johnie and Johnmichael.