Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from Koine Greek: Ἰωάννα, romanized: Iōanna from Hebrew: יוֹחָנָה, romanized: Yôḥānāh, lit. 'God is gracious'. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne.
The earliest recorded occurrence of the name Joanna, in Luke 8:3, refers to the disciple "Joanna the wife of Chuza," who was an associate of Mary Magdalene. Her name as given is Greek in form, although it ultimately originated from the Hebrew masculine name יְהוֹחָנָן Yəhôḥānān or יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānān meaning 'God is gracious'. In Greek this name became Ιωαννης Iōannēs, from which Iōanna was derived by giving it a feminine ending. The name Joanna, like Yehohanan, was associated with Hasmonean families. Saint Joanna was culturally Hellenized, thus bearing the Grecian adaptation of a Jewish name, as was commonly done in her milieu.
At the beginning of the Christian era, the names Iōanna and Iōannēs were already common in Judea. The name Joanna and its equivalents became popular for women "all at once" beginning in the 12th century in Navarre and the south of France. In England, the name did not become current until the 19th century.
The original Latin form Joanna was used in English to translate the equivalents in other languages; for example, Juana la Loca is known in English as Joanna the Mad. The variant form Johanna originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The Greek form lacks a medial -h- because in Greek /h/ could only occur initially.
The Hebrew name יוֹחָנָה Yôḥānāh forms a feminine equivalent in Hebrew for the name Joanna and its variants. The Christian Arabic form of John is يوحنّا Yūḥannā, based on the Judeo-Aramaic form of the name. For Joanna, Arabic translations of the Bible use يونّا Yuwannā based on Syriac ܝܘܚܢ Yoanna, which in turn is based on the Greek form Iōanna.
Sometimes in modern English Joanna is reinterpreted as a compound of the two names Jo and Anna, and therefore given a spelling like JoAnna, Jo-Anna, or Jo Anna. However, the original name Joanna is a single unit, not a compound. The names Hannah, Anna, Anne, Ann are etymologically related to Joanna just the same: they are derived from Hebrew חַנָּה Ḥannāh 'grace' from the same verbal root meaning 'to be gracious'.
The name Joanna in Kurdish is based on the Kurdish word for 'beautiful', ciwan, which is derived from a separate etymology: Proto-Iranian *HyúHā from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō, 'young', making it a cognate of Persian javān and Italian giovane 'young', as well as English young. The secondary meaning of 'beautiful' has developed in Northwest Iranian languages.
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Women named Joanna
Religion
Saint Joanna, one of the women associated with the ministry of Mary Magdalene. She brought myrrh to Christ's sepulcher and helped discover the empty tomb (Luke 24:10).
Joanna (prioress of Lothen), twelfth century nun
Joanna Southcott (1750–1814), English prophetess
Royals and noblewomen
Joanna of Constantinople (c. 1199–1244), Countess of Flanders
Joan of Flanders, Countess of Montfort (c. 1295–1374), Duchess of Brittany
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (1322–1406)
Joanna, Duchess of Durazzo (1344–1387)
Joanna I of Naples (1325–1382)
Joanna of Bourbon (1338–1378)
Joanna II of Naples (1371–1435)
Joanna of Navarre (c. 1368–1437), consort of King Henry IV of England
Saint Joana, Crown Princess of Portugal (1452–1490)
Joanna of Castile (1479–1555), queen regnant of Castile, known as Joanna the Mad
Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal (1535–1573)
Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1547–1578)
Joanna Nobilis Sombre (c. 1753–1836), Begum Samru of Sardhana
Princess Joanna of Courland (1783–1876)
Other
Joanna Ampil, Filipina musical theater actress and singer
Joanna Angel (born 1980), American porn actress
Joanna Baillie (1762–1851), Scottish poet and playwright
Joanna Barnden (born 1972), British author of historical fiction
Joanna Barnes (1934–2022), American actress
Joanna Bending, British actress
Joanna Bolme (born 1968), American indie rock musician
Joanna Briscoe (born 1963), English novelist
Joanna Brouk (1949–2017), American composer
Joanna Bruzdowicz (1943–2021), Polish composer
Joanna Byrne, Irish politician
Joanna Cameron (1951–2021), American actress
Joanna Cassidy (born 1945), American actress
Joanna Clark (born 1938), American nun, naval officer, and activist
Joanna Cole (disambiguation), several people
Joanna Connor (born 1962), American blues musician
Joanna David (born 1947), British actress
Joanna Denny (died 2006), British historian
Joanna Dennehy (born 1982), British serial killer
Fictional characters
Joanna Beauchamp, the lead character in Melissa de la Cruz's novel Witches of East End and the TV show made from it
Joanna Chambers, a scientist from the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz
Joanna Dark, the main character in Perfect Dark
Joanna Eberhart, the protagonist of The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Joanna “Joey” Del Marco, a character in the Netflix series Grand Army
The title character in the 1973 Brazilian film Joanna Francesa, played by Jeanne Moreau
Joanna Beth "Jo" Harvelle, a hunter on Supernatural
Joanna the Goanna, a pet lizard to antagonist Percival McLeach in Disney's The Rescuers Down Under
The protagonist of the 1968 British film Joanna
Joanna McCoy, daughter of Leonard McCoy of Star Trek
Joanna May, title character in The Cloning of Joanna May, a science fiction novel by Fay Weldon
Jo Parrish, a police constable on Blue Heelers
Jo Polniaczek on The Facts of Life
Lieutenant Joanna Reece on Forever
Joanna Cargill (Frenzy), a mutant character appearing in X-Men comics
Women named Ioanna
Ioanna Anagnostopoulou (born 1997), Greek rhythmic gymnast
Ioanna Avraam, Cypriot ballet dancer
Ioanna Babassika, Greek human rights lawyer
Ioanna Chatziioannou (born 1973), retired female weightlifter from Greece
Ioanna Filippou (born 1995), Cypriot beauty pageant title holder
Ioanna Fotiadou (born 1977), Greek handball player
Ioanna Karyofylli, Greek local politician
Ioanna Karystiani (born 1952), Greek screenwriter
Ioanna Kimbook, Cypriot actress
Ioanna Kondouli, Greek politician and topographer engineer
İoanna Kuçuradi (born 1936), Turkish philosopher
Ioanna Lytrivi (born 1982), Greek politician
Ioanna Morfessis, American businesswoman
Ioanna Papantoniou (1936–2026), Greek author, scenic designer, costume designer and folklorist
Ioanna Sfekas-Karvelas (born 1950), Greek American dramatic soprano
Ioanna Stamatopoulou (born 1998), Greek water polo player
Ioanna Tantcheva (born 1989), Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast