The name John comes from the Latin name Iohannes and Greek name Ioannes, both of which are derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan and composed of the Hebrew elements yo, meaning "God," and hanan, meaning "to be gracious." Therefore, John means "God is gracious." In the Bible, John the Apostle is one of Jesus' first and closest disciples. John was the No. 1 most popular boy's name every year between 1900 and 1923. It fell out of the top-10 in 1987, but has remained in the top-30 ever since. Though not as popular, some parents prefer similar-sounding names like Johan, Johnny, Johnathan, Jonathan, Jonas, Jones or Jonah.
