Joana
A variant of Joanna, from the Hebrew for "god is gracious". Only around 130 women in Poland carry it, so most people here will never meet one.
Joana Pronunciation
Joana is pronounced yo-AH-nah (/jɔˈana/).
What Joana means
Where Joana comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Joana grows from Hebrew soil. The root is Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious," the same source behind Polish Jan and the fuller Joanna. Joana reads as a trimmer spelling of that Joanna, and the Hebrew sense holds in each version.
In everyday Polish the name shortens to Asia. A child entered as Joana in the school register still turns her head when the teacher calls Asia. The formal name and the pet name sit side by side, one for documents and one for friends. The Polish name-day calendar lists Joanna on several dates, one of them the 24th of May, and the Joanas and Asias share it.
Names built on Yohanan spread across Europe, so Joana keeps company with cognates: Joanna, Jeanne, Giovanna. The spelling shifts from country to country. The Hebrew claim underneath does not move. Bóg jest łaskawy, God is gracious.
How many people are named Joana
1 in 172090 women in Poland is named Joana. 131 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2900 among female names.
Joana's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Joana as a middle name
Joana is a first name for 131 women in Poland and a middle name for another 35, a 79/21 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1181st, between Iliana (35) and Madeline (35).
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#1179 Huong35
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#1180 Iliana35
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#1181 Joana35
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#1182 Madeline35
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#1183 Merve35