Holding steady.
Popularity of Johney since 1888
Babies named Johney per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1919, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Johney's real moment was 1910.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1890s | 0 |
| 1900s | 34 |
| 1910s | 228 |
| 1920s | 295 |
| 1930s | 254 |
| 1940s | 218 |
| 1950s | 172 |
| 1960s | 126 |
| 1970s | 82 |
| 1980s | 58 |
| 1990s | 31 |
| 2000s | 16 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Johney is a rare spelling variant of Johnny, itself a diminutive of John, and has never entered the U.S. top 1000. Its peak year of usage was 1910, when it was given to a handful of boys. The name has remained consistently rare since the first recorded instance in 1888, with a stable trajectory. Johney is an example of early 20th-century anglicized spellings that never gained widespread adoption. It is almost exclusively recorded for boys, following the pattern of John and its diminutives.
Johney is a variant of Johnny, a diminutive of John. John derives from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning 'Yahweh is gracious'. The spelling Johney appears as a less common anglicized form, recorded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the United States.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: John, Jon
Sibling names for Johney
Names that share Johney's style, for a brother or sister.
