Given name
Hovhannes
“Yahweh has been gracious”
Hovhannes is used as a given name.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Hovhannes is a romanization of Հովհաննես. Հովհաննես goes back to Ancient Greek Ἰωάννης, meaning “Yahweh has been gracious.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Hovhannes is a romanization of Հովհաննես. Հովհաննես comes from Biblical Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1992. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hovhannes through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 79
- 79 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,172 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,172 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 536 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hovhannes’s family of names
In German usage, Hovhannes has a related form in Johannes. In German usage, Hovhannes has a conventional equivalent in the Greek form Χοβχαννές. In Armenian usage, Hovhannes is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Հովհաննես.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Hovhannes has relatives in 3 languages.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hovhannes
- Hovhannes TumanyanArmenian writer and public activist (1869–1923)
- Hovhannes ShirazArmenian poet (1915–1984)
- Hovhannes KajaznuniArmenian politician (1867-1938)1868–1938
- Hovhannes BachkovArmenian boxerborn 1992
- Hovhannes DavtyanArmenian judokaborn 1983
- Hovhannes HovhannisyanArmenian poet1864–1929
- Hovhannes DanielyanArmenian boxerborn 1987
- Hovhannes ZardaryanArmenian painter (1918-1992)
- Hovhannes DraskhanakerttsiCatholicos of Armenia845–925
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hovhannes, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tahan
“encampment”
>99% boys
Eithan
“firmness” · “long-lived”
>99% boys
Gianni
“God is gracious”
80% boys · 20% girls
Nethaniah
“Yah has given”
>99% boys
Abiezer
“my father is help” · “father of help”
>99% boys
Ares
“Ares' dome” · “the containment of competition”
96% boys · 4% girls
Hari
“resembling a lion”
95% boys · 5% girls
Ekaksh
>99% boys