UK boy's name
Ioannis
Greek form of the Hebrew name "John", meaning "God is gracious".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Ioannis is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Ioannis popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1402, with 19 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 20 births.
This profile covers 303 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 95% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 307 living people in the UK are called Ioannis. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Ioannis ranked #1402 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 19 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2017, when 20 boys were registered as Ioannis.
- • Ioannis ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #703 in 2022.
- • About 307 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ioannis as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1402
2024
Births in 2024
19
Latest year
Peak year
2017
20 births
Estimated living
307
2026
Meaning
What does Ioannis mean?
The given name Ioannis has its origins in the Greek language and culture, and it can be traced back to the Hellenistic period of ancient Greece. It is derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, which means "Yahweh is gracious." The name Ioannis is a transliteration of the Greek form of the name, Ioannes.
The name Ioannis appears frequently in the New Testament of the Bible, as it was the name of several significant figures, including John the Baptist and John the Apostle. In the Gospel of John, the name Ioannis is used to refer to John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ioannis dates back to the 4th century AD, when Ioannis Chrysostomos, also known as John Chrysostom (347-407), was a prominent Christian bishop and preacher in the Byzantine Empire. He is renowned for his eloquence and is considered one of the greatest preachers in the history of Christianity.
In the 6th century, Ioannis Philoponos (490-570) was a prominent philosopher, grammarian, and Christian theologian who made significant contributions to the fields of physics and logic. He was one of the first scholars to challenge the ideas of Aristotle and paved the way for the development of modern science.
During the Byzantine period, the name Ioannis was also borne by several emperors, including Ioannis I Tzimiskes (925-976), who ruled from 969 to 976 and is known for his military campaigns against the Muslims and the Bulgarians.
In the 20th century, Ioannis Metaxas (1871-1941) was a prominent Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 to 1941. He is known for his authoritarian rule and for his role in leading Greece during the early years of World War II.
Another notable figure with the name Ioannis is Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831), a Greek statesman and diplomat who served as the first head of state of independent Greece after the Greek War of Independence. He is considered one of the most prominent political figures in modern Greek history.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Ioannis over time
The chart below shows babies named Ioannis registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Ioannis, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 19 births in 2024, compared with 20 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ioannis by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ioannis was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1626 | 81 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1792 | 136 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2480 | 61 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1813 | 25 | 4 |
Geography
Where Ioannis is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ioannis. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Ioannis ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #703 in 2022.
Across the UK
Ioannis in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#703 in 2022
2 years of NRS records, 6 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Ioannis
-
Ioannis Papafis
businessperson
Greek Macedonian merchant and entrepreneur (1792–1886)
1792-1886
Related
Names similar to Ioannis
- Isaac 49,129
- Ibrahim 14,115
- Ismail 4,679
- Isaiah 4,629
- Idris 3,810
- Ivan 3,146
- Isa 2,943
- Ian 2,805
- Ilyas 2,552
- Ieuan 2,515
- Ibraheem 2,384
- Ioan 2,295
FAQ
Ioannis: questions and answers
How popular is the name Ioannis in the UK right now?
In 2024, Ioannis was ranked #1402 for boys in England and Wales, with 19 births registered.
When was Ioannis most popular?
The peak year on record was 2017, with 20 babies registered as Ioannis in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Ioannis?
Greek form of the Hebrew name "John", meaning "God is gracious".
How many people are called Ioannis in the UK?
A total of 303 babies have been registered as Ioannis across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.
Where is Ioannis most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Ioannis ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #703 in 2022. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.