Johannah

Meaning & origin

Johannah is a feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning 'God is gracious', a spelling variant of Johanna that incorporates the 'h' from the original Hebrew Yohanan. The name first entered U.S. records in 1880, with its peak year of recorded usage in 1884. Since 2011, its popularity has been in decline, and in 2025 it ranked 5,238th with an estimated 1 in 66,969 births. Johannah has never appeared among the top states, reflecting its consistent rarity even during its modest peak in the late 19th century. The name carries a distinctly vintage quality, aligning it with other revived biblical and saintly names, though it remains far less common than the standard Johanna or Joanna. Despite its low frequency, Johannah offers a traditional and elegant option for parents seeking a name with deep religious roots and a slightly unique spelling.

Johannah is a variant of Johanna, the Latin feminine form of John, which itself derives from the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning 'Yahweh is gracious'. The name appears in the New Testament as one of the women who witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. Johannah has been used in English-speaking countries since the 16th century, often as a spelling variant that emphasizes the 'h' from the original Hebrew.