| Joanna | Eliza | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is gracious | God is my oath |
| Origin | hebrew | Hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | joh-AN-uh | ih-LY-zuh |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1984 (3,332) | 2021 (2,484) |
| In 2025 | 997 | 2,370 |
| Trend | Steady | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Joanna | Eliza |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6,139 | 14,227 |
| 2010s | 11,409 | 17,726 |
| 2000s | 12,970 | 9,608 |
| 1990s | 16,287 | 4,750 |
| 1980s | 22,216 | 2,774 |
| 1970s | 15,281 | 1,725 |
| 1960s | 9,196 | 1,007 |
| 1950s | 5,151 | 1,057 |
| 1940s | 4,709 | 1,391 |
| 1930s | 3,914 | 1,817 |
| 1920s | 2,233 | 3,227 |
| 1910s | 1,186 | 3,289 |
| 1900s | 391 | 2,397 |
| 1890s | 389 | 2,723 |
| 1880s | 290 | 2,851 |
From Greek Ioanna, the feminine of Ioannes (John), ultimately from Hebrew 'Yochanan' meaning 'Yahweh is gracious.' A New Testament name and a John-root grace name.
A short form of Elizabeth, from the Hebrew, “God is my oath.”
Eliza is more popular than Joanna today: about 2,370 US babies were given the name Eliza in 2025, compared with 997 named Joanna.
Joanna means God is gracious (hebrew origin), while Eliza means God is my oath (Hebrew origin).
In US records, Joanna first appears in 1880 and Eliza in 1880, so Joanna has the longer recorded history.