boy's name
Giovanni
joh-VAH-nee
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 4
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 105,726
the United States
#123
2025 births
Giovanni is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," the Italian form of John. It descends from the Latin Iohannes and ultimately Yochanan, and has been one of the most common Italian names for centuries.
- Giovanni is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 2010, when 3,445 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,122 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1907.
- 4 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Giovanni over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 18 |
| 1910s | 175 |
| 1920s | 135 |
| 1930s | 56 |
| 1940s | 20 |
| 1950s | 153 |
| 1960s | 579 |
| 1970s | 1,501 |
| 1980s | 3,544 |
| 1990s | 11,225 |
| 2000s | 24,443 |
| 2010s | 30,545 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 17,957 |
What Giovanni means
Giovanni means Yahweh is gracious, inherited unchanged from John. The meaning is a statement about God rather than about the person, as with most Hebrew theophoric names.
Where Giovanni comes from
Giovanni is the Italian development of the Latin Iohannes, from the Hebrew Yochanan, meaning Yahweh is gracious. Every European language produced its own form — John, Sean, Ian, Jean, Juan, Johann, Ivan — and Giovanni is Italy's. Its ubiquity there generated Gianni, Nanni, Vanni and the feminine Giovanna and Gianna. The name is inseparable from Italian art history through Giovanni Bellini and Giovanni Boccaccio, and from opera through Don Giovanni, Mozart's treatment of the Don Juan legend — Don Juan being the Spanish form of the same name.
Giovanni in use
Don Giovanni and Don Juan are the same name in two languages, and both descend from the Hebrew Yochanan.
How popular is Giovanni?
In 2025, Giovanni was given to 2,955 babies in the United States, ranking #123 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Giovanni is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Giovanni
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Giovanni also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Giovanni over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Giovanni
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Giovanni in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Amis
- Iwan
- Ancient Greek
- Ioannis
- Arabic
- Jehan
- Armenian
- Ivan
- Atayal
- Iwan
- Breton
- Yann
- Bulgarian
- Ivan
- Corsican
- Ghjuvan
- Finnish
- Hannes
- Galician
- Ivo
- Greek
- Ioannis
- Hebrew
- Yohanan
- Hungarian
- Janka
- Icelandic
- Hannes
- Latin American Spanish
- Geovany
- Macedonian
- Ivan
- North Germanic
- Jan
- Occitan
- Joan
- Romance
- Giovane
- Russian
- Ivan
- Sardinian
- Ioan
- Seediq
- Iwan
- Serbian
- Ivan
- Ukrainian
- Ivan
Sibling names for Giovanni
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Giovanni — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Giovanni
What does the name Giovanni mean?
Giovanni means "God is gracious," the Italian form of John.
Is Giovanni the Italian John?
Yes, from the Latin Iohannes and the Hebrew Yochanan.
What are nicknames for Giovanni?
Gio and Vanni are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Giovanni?
In 2025, Giovanni was given to 2,955 babies in the United States, ranking #123 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Giovanni a girl's or a boy's name?
Giovanni is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Giovanni?
Giovanni has 4 syllables.
When was Giovanni most popular?
Giovanni peaked in 2010, when 3,445 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Giovanni a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Giovanni currently ranks #123 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.