Head to head · Boys' names
Johnny vs Pedro
#457 vs #455 in 2025
Pedro is a whisker ahead (#455 vs #457 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Pedro is holding its place on the charts, Johnny 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: Johnny and Pedro each lead 2 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: Johnny #414, Pedro #363 — Pedro higher
- 1890s: Johnny #323, Pedro #346 — Johnny higher
- 1900s: Johnny #215, Pedro #289 — Johnny higher
- 1910s: Johnny #215, Pedro #359 — Johnny higher
- 1920s: Johnny #148, Pedro #293 — Johnny higher
- 1930s: Johnny #82, Pedro #293 — Johnny higher
- 1940s: Johnny #50, Pedro #313 — Johnny higher
- 1950s: Johnny #56, Pedro #303 — Johnny higher
- 1960s: Johnny #70, Pedro #286 — Johnny higher
- 1970s: Johnny #86, Pedro #230 — Johnny higher
- 1980s: Johnny #122, Pedro #205 — Johnny higher
- 1990s: Johnny #179, Pedro #196 — Johnny higher
- 2000s: Johnny #241, Pedro #228 — Pedro higher
- 2010s: Johnny #311, Pedro #354 — Johnny higher
- 2020s: Johnny #428, Pedro #423 — Pedro higher
Johnny stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Pedro took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Johnny | Pedro |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #414 | #363 |
| 1890s | #323 | #346 |
| 1900s | #215 | #289 |
| 1910s | #215 | #359 |
| 1920s | #148 | #293 |
| 1930s | #82 | #293 |
| 1940s | #50 | #313 |
| 1950s | #56 | #303 |
| 1960s | #70 | #286 |
| 1970s | #86 | #230 |
| 1980s | #122 | #205 |
| 1990s | #179 | #196 |
| 2000s | #241 | #228 |
| 2010s | #311 | #354 |
| 2020s | #428 | #423 |
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
Johnny
God is gracious
From the Hebrew name Yochanan, built from the elements for 'Yahweh' and 'to be gracious'.
Yochanan → Ioannes → Iohannes → John → Johnny
How it traveled
The root name is Hebrew Yochanan, which passed into Greek as Ioannes, into Latin as Iohannes, and from there into every corner of Christian Europe. Two figures in the New Testament carried it — John the Baptist and John the Evangelist — which is why the name spread so widely and settled so deep in English.
Pedro
Rock, stone
Greek Petros translates the Aramaic word for rock, kepha — the name given to the apostle Simon in the New Testament, where it appears in Greek as both Petros and Kephas.
Kepha → Petros → Petrus → Pedro
How it traveled
The name begins as a word rather than a name: Greek petros, "stone," used to render the Aramaic kepha in the Gospels, where the apostle Simon is renamed. Latin turned it into Petrus, and from Petrus the Romance languages each took their own road — Pierre in France, Pietro in Italy, Pere in Catalonia, and Pedro in both Spanish and Portuguese.
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
Johnny
JON-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Straightforward for English speakers, and close enough to Juanito or Gianni that Spanish- and Italian-speaking relatives will hear the connection.
- John — The full parent name; many families register John and use Johnny every day, which gives a more formal option later.
- Johnnie — An alternative spelling of the same name; in US records it has also seen some use for girls, while Johnny is overwhelmingly male.
- Jack — A long-established English short form of John, independent enough that it is now widely given on its own.
- J.J. — Initial-based, common where the middle name also starts with J; informal, mostly used at home and among friends.
- Also Jonny.
Pedro
PEH-droh
Two syllables, stress on the first. In Spanish and Portuguese the r is a light tap; English speakers usually say PED-roh or PAY-droh, and both are widely accepted.
- Pedrito — The standard Spanish diminutive, affectionate and used mostly within the family and in childhood.
- Pedrinho — The Portuguese and Brazilian diminutive, common for boys and in sports commentary.
- Perico — A long-established Spanish familiar form; also a common word for a parakeet, so it reads as playful.
- Pete — Used in English-speaking settings by Pedros who work across both languages; borrowed from Peter rather than from Pedro itself.
- Also Pedrão.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Johnny if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJohnny is stepping back from its peak
Choose Pedro if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Pedro from Johnny.
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
Johnny
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing — no correcting, no repeating.
- Registering John gives a formal name for documents and a lifelong everyday Johnny; either can be dropped in favor of the other.
- The underlying name has an unbroken record from Hebrew through Greek and Latin into modern English, so it is never going to read as invented.
To consider
- It began as a nickname and still sounds like one, which some people mind on a résumé or a nameplate. Naming him John solves that entirely and costs nothing.
- Johnny and Johnnie are both in use, so expect an occasional wrong letter from people writing it down.
- It is strongly represented among older generations, and a child may well be the only one in his class — pleasant for him, but the name will read as inherited rather than new.
Pedro
Strengths
- Spelled the same in Spanish, Portuguese and English, with no variant spellings competing for it — rarely misspelled once heard.
- Maps directly onto Peter, Pierre, Pietro and Pere, so it connects a child to relatives with the same name in another language.
- An unbroken record from the medieval Iberian kingdoms to the present, with no gap that would date it to one generation.
To consider
- In English-only settings the vowels get flattened and the tapped r disappears, so the name your family says at home and the name a coach shouts across a field may not sound quite the same.
- The 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite put "Vote for Pedro" on T-shirts, and the phrase still surfaces. It has faded a good deal, but it is worth knowing about.
- Pedro has sometimes been used in American popular culture as a generic stand-in for a Spanish-speaking man, which can invite lazy jokes from people who deal in them.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Johnny and Pedro 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 Johnny and Pedro?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Country music names
- Superhero names, secret identities included
- Nursery rhyme names
- all guides
Where Johnny and Pedro each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Johnny or Pedro — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Johnny or Pedro?
- Pedro, in 2025: Pedro ranked #455 with 684 babies; Johnny ranked #457 with 682 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Johnny or Pedro?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Johnny moved down 70 places; Pedro moved down 45 places.
- Which is the older name, Johnny or Pedro?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Johnny and Pedro?
- About 221,000 people named Johnny are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 77,500 people named Pedro are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Johnnys or Pedros in the classroom?
- Johnny will almost certainly be the only one in school. Pedro 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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