Johan
Meaning and origin
From Old Swedish Iohan or short form of Johannes (“John”). First recorded in Sweden in runes in the 11th century.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Johan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Johan has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1998. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 677 |
| 1999 | 625 |
| 2000 | 533 |
| 2001 | 464 |
| 2002 | 399 |
| 2003 | 375 |
| 2004 | 290 |
| 2005 | 264 |
| 2006 | 194 |
| 2007 | 158 |
| 2008 | 145 |
| 2009 | 109 |
| 2010 | 112 |
| 2011 | 87 |
| 2012 | 76 |
| 2013 | 76 |
| 2014 | 56 |
| 2015 | 42 |
| 2016 | 48 |
| 2017 | 37 |
| 2018 | 38 |
| 2019 | 33 |
| 2020 | 44 |
| 2021 | 18 |
| 2022 | 11 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 78,593 |
| 2000 | 78,390 |
| 2001 | 78,301 |
| 2002 | 78,111 |
| 2003 | 78,001 |
| 2004 | 77,791 |
| 2005 | 77,460 |
| 2006 | 77,168 |
| 2007 | 76,881 |
| 2008 | 76,655 |
| 2009 | 76,351 |
| 2010 | 76,032 |
| 2011 | 75,709 |
| 2012 | 75,425 |
| 2013 | 75,123 |
| 2014 | 74,835 |
| 2015 | 74,635 |
| 2016 | 74,445 |
| 2017 | 74,203 |
| 2018 | 74,010 |
| 2019 | 73,824 |
| 2020 | 73,657 |
Johan in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Johan.Hi! My name is Johan.
- Johan bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Johan lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Johan har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Johan has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Johans mamma är lärare.Johan's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Johans mamma is Johan's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Johan
How do you pronounce Johan in Swedish?
In IPA, Johan is [²juːan]. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Johan mean?
From Old Swedish Iohan or short form of Johannes (“John”). First recorded in Sweden in runes in the 11th century.
How popular is Johan in Sweden?
11 babies were named Johan in 2022. In 2020, 73,657 people in Sweden had Johan as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 1998 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.