Head to head · Girls' names
Joanna vs Julieta
#306 vs #285 in 2025
Julieta is a whisker ahead (#285 vs #306 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Julieta is climbing the charts fast, Joanna is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Joanna and Julieta each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Joanna #380, Julieta — — Joanna higher
- 1890s: Joanna #450, Julieta — — Joanna higher
- 1900s: Joanna #559, Julieta — — Joanna higher
- 1910s: Joanna #543, Julieta #3150 — Joanna higher
- 1920s: Joanna #471, Julieta #3023 — Joanna higher
- 1930s: Joanna #319, Julieta #2237 — Joanna higher
- 1940s: Joanna #330, Julieta #2804 — Joanna higher
- 1950s: Joanna #391, Julieta #2912 — Joanna higher
- 1960s: Joanna #298, Julieta #2804 — Joanna higher
- 1970s: Joanna #184, Julieta #2635 — Joanna higher
- 1980s: Joanna #134, Julieta #2689 — Joanna higher
- 1990s: Joanna #190, Julieta #2338 — Joanna higher
- 2000s: Joanna #256, Julieta #1414 — Joanna higher
- 2010s: Joanna #287, Julieta #829 — Joanna higher
- 2020s: Joanna #307, Julieta #450 — Joanna higher
Joanna stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Joanna | Julieta |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #380 | — |
| 1890s | #450 | — |
| 1900s | #559 | — |
| 1910s | #543 | #3150 |
| 1920s | #471 | #3023 |
| 1930s | #319 | #2237 |
| 1940s | #330 | #2804 |
| 1950s | #391 | #2912 |
| 1960s | #298 | #2804 |
| 1970s | #184 | #2635 |
| 1980s | #134 | #2689 |
| 1990s | #190 | #2338 |
| 2000s | #256 | #1414 |
| 2010s | #287 | #829 |
| 2020s | #307 | #450 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Joanna
God is gracious
From the Hebrew name Yohanan, 'Yahweh is gracious', by way of the Greek feminine form Ioanna. It is the same root as John, Jane, Jean and Joan.
Yohanan → Ioanna → Iohanna → Johanna → Joanna
How it traveled
The root is the Hebrew Yohanan, which Greek-speaking writers rendered as Ioannes for men and Ioanna for women. Joanna appears in the Gospel of Luke as the wife of Chuza, listed among the women who traveled with and supported Jesus — which carried the name into Latin as Iohanna and out across Christian Europe.
Julieta
A form of Juliet, a diminutive of Julia — from the Roman family name Julius
That Julieta belongs to the Julia/Juliet family is settled. What Julius itself meant is not: scholars have linked it to the Greek ioulos, 'downy-haired', and to Jupiter, the Roman sky god. The popular gloss 'youthful' comes from Latin iuvenis and is a later folk association rather than a demonstrated root.
Julius → Julia → Giulietta → Juliette → Julieta
How it traveled
The name begins with the gens Julia, one of the patrician families of the Roman Republic, whose women all bore the name Julia. Christian use spread Julia across Europe, and Italian gave it the affectionate diminutive Giulietta — the form behind the heroine of the sixteenth-century Italian novellas that Shakespeare reworked into Romeo and Juliet in the 1590s.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Joanna
jo-AN-uh
Stress on the middle syllable in English. In Polish, where the same spelling is common, it is said yo-AH-na.
- Jo — The most common short form, informal, and long established as a given name in its own right.
- Jojo — Informal and mostly used within families and among children.
- Annie — Taken from the second half of the name; informal, and also a standalone given name.
- Anna — Used as a short form in some families and widely as a full name elsewhere.
- Also Joey.
Julieta
hoo-lee-EH-tah
That is the Spanish pronunciation. English speakers commonly say joo-lee-ET-uh, on the pattern of Juliet. Both are in real use in the US, so it helps to decide early which one your family will offer first.
- Juli — The everyday short form in Spanish-speaking households; said HOO-lee.
- Julie — The English-language shortening, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Julita — A Spanish affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than at school.
- Jules — Informal and unisex in English; used for Julia and Julian too.
- Also Etta.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Joanna if you want…
- a name fewer children share#306 in 2025 — joanna will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsJoanna is stepping back from its peak
- a long American recordJoanna was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Julieta if you want…
- a name most people already know#285 in 2025, 1,086 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 331 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalJulieta entered the US charts in 1913
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Joanna
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers, with the stress falling where readers expect it.
- Has recognizable counterparts in most European languages — Giovanna, Juana, Jeanne, Johanna — so it travels without translation.
- Comes with short forms already in circulation: Jo, Jojo, Annie, Anna, each usable without explanation.
To consider
- Joanna, Joanne, Johanna and Joan are four different names that sound close and get swapped constantly. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections, especially over the phone and in writing.
- The name is strongly represented among adults today, so many people will meet a grown Joanna before they meet a small one. That is shifting as it settles into the classic range.
- Jo is shared with Josephine, Joanne and Joan, so the nickname alone will not always identify her.
Julieta
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in Spanish, and instantly recognizable in English through Juliet and Julia — few people will need it explained.
- Works in Spanish, Portuguese, English, Italian and French with only a change of ending, which matters in a bilingual family.
- Several established short forms already in circulation: Juli, Julie, Julita, Jules.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete in the US — HOO-lee-EH-tah and joo-lee-ET-uh — and a child with this name will spend some of her life correcting people, or choosing not to.
- The Shakespeare link comes free: expect Romeo remarks, and a play whose ending is not cheerful.
- Julia, Juliet, Juliette and Giulietta all sit nearby, so the spelling will occasionally be assumed rather than asked.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Joanna
40%chance Joanna feels dated by 2040
Joanna sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Julieta
58%chance Julieta feels dated by 2040
Julieta is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Joanna and Julieta in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Joanna and Julieta?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Under the radar: quietly excellent picks
- Names that belong entirely to the 1980s
- Names ending in -na
- Disney names on real birth certificates
- all guides
Where Joanna and Julieta each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Joanna or Julieta — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Joanna or Julieta?
- Julieta, in 2025: Julieta ranked #285 with 1,086 babies; Joanna ranked #306 with 997 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Joanna or Julieta?
- Julieta. Over the last five years Joanna moved down 50 places; Julieta moved up 331 places.
- Which is the older name, Joanna or Julieta?
- Joanna was already in use when US records began in 1880; Julieta entered the US charts in 1913. On the American record, Joanna is the older name.
- How many people are named Joanna and Julieta?
- About 99,000 people named Joanna are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,500 people named Julieta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Joannas or Julietas in the classroom?
- Joanna will almost certainly be the only one in school. Julieta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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