João is a given

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. The

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

is Joãozinho and the

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

Joana Joana is a given name, equivalent to Joanna in Catalan language, Catalan () and Portuguese language, Portuguese (). The Galician language, Galician form of the name is Xoana (). It may refer to: * Joana Angélica (1761–1822), Brazilian Conceptio ...

. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below.

Kings

* João I of Portugal * João II of Portugal * João III of Portugal * João IV of Portugal * João V of Portugal *

João VI of Portugal '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil a ...

João I of Kongo King João I (born Nzinga-a-Nkuwu; ca. 1440 – 1509) was the 5th ManiKongo of the Kingdom of Kongo () between 1470 and 1509. He voluntarily converted to Roman Catholicism. He was baptized on 3 May 1491 and took the Christian name of ''João'' ...

, ruled 1470–1509 *

João II of Lemba João II Nzuzi a Ntamba was a ruler of Lemba and was one of the main Kinlaza List of Rulers of Kongo, claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its Kongo Civil War, civil war, the other being the King of Kibangu. He ruled the Kingdom o ...

or João Manuel II of Kongo, ruled 1680–1716 * Dharmapala of Kotte, last King of the

Kingdom of Kotte The Kingdom of Kotte (, ), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming, the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna ki ...

, reigned 1551–1597

Princes

* João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (1537–1554), son of John III *

Infante João, Duke of Beja Infante João, Duke of Beja (; ; 16 March 1842 – 27 December 1861) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) and member of the House of Braganza."While remaining patrilineal dynasts of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha according to pp. 88, ...

(1842–1861)

Arts and literature

* João Borsch, Portuguese musician * João Bosco, Brazilian musician * João Cabral de Melo Neto, Brazilian poet and diplomat * João César Monteiro, Portuguese film director * Joao Constancia, Filipino singer, actor and dancer * João Donato, Brazilian musician *

João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in t ...

, Portuguese poet * João do Rio, Brazilian writer * João Frederico Ludovice, German-born Portuguese architect and goldsmith *

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...

, Brazilian musician * João Guimarães Rosa, Brazilian novelist, short story writer, and diplomat *

João Miguel (actor) João Miguel Serrano Leonelli (born 1 January 1970), known professionally as João Miguel, is a Brazilian actor. He is known to international audiences for his role in the Netflix series ''3%''. Biography João Miguel was born in Salvador, Bah ...

, Brazilian actor * João Nogueira, Brazilian musician * João Pedro Rodrigues, Portuguese film director * Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist * João Simões Lopes Neto, Brazilian writer * João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian writer, journalist, and professor * João Vasco Paiva, Portuguese artist

Sportspeople

Footballers

* João Félix, Portuguese footballer * João Moutinho, Portuguese footballer * João Mário (footballer, born January 1993), Portuguese footballer * João Pereira (disambiguation), several Portuguese footballers * João Pinto, Portuguese footballer * João Cancelo, Portuguese footballer *

João Tomás João Henrique Pataco Tomás (born 27 May 1975) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented mostly Braga (three seasons) and Rio Ave (four) in a 19-year senior career, also having a one-and-a-half-se ...

, Portuguese footballer *

Lucas João Lucas Eduardo dos Santos João (born 4 September 1993), known as Lucas João, is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Turkish club Ümraniyespor and the Angola national footba ...

, Portuguese/Angolan footballer * Joãozinho (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer * João Pedro (footballer, born 2001), Brazilian footballer * João Paulo (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer

Other sportspeople

* João Almeida (cyclist), Portuguese road cyclist *

João Barbosa João Ricardo da Silva Coelho Barbosa (born 11 March 1975 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese auto racing driver. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Sean Creech Motorsport in the LMP2 class. He was runner ...

, Portuguese racing driver * João Brenha, Portuguese beach volleyball player * João Cunha e Silva, Portuguese tennis player *

João Fonseca (tennis) João Franca Guimarães Fonseca (; born 21 August 2006) is a Brazilians, Brazilian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 57, achieved on 9 June 2025 and a doubles r ...

, Brazilian tennis player *

João Havelange Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange (, ; 8 May 1916 – 16 August 2016) was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who was the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998. His tenure as president is the second longest in ...

, Brazilian president of FIFA from 1974–1998 * João José, Portuguese volleyball player * João Moreira, jockey currently based in Hong Kong * João José Pereira, Portuguese triathlete *

João Sousa João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa (born 30 March 1989), known as João Sousa (), is a Portuguese former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of No. 28 on 16 May 2016 a ...

, Portuguese tennis player *

João Souza João Olavo Soares de Souza (; born 27 May 1988) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. Before receiving a lifetime ban for match-fixing, Souza competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour, both in singles and doubles. He reached his hi ...

, Brazilian tennis player *

João Souza (fencer) João Antônio de Albuquerque e Souza (born August 23, 1983 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian foil fencer. Souza represented Brazil at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Brazil at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in ...

, Brazilian fencer

Other people

* João Amoêdo, Brazilian engineer and company administrator * João Biehl, Brazilian anthropologist * João Cravinho (1936–2025), Portuguese politician * João Gomes Cravinho (born 1964), Portuguese diplomat and politician, son of João Cravinho * João Dias (born 1973), Portuguese politician * João Doria, Brazilian politician * João Teixeira de Faria, Brazilian faith healer * João Armando Gonçalves, head of the World Organization of the Scout Movement *

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (; 1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the president of Brazil from 1961 until a military coup d'état deposed him in 1964. He was considered the ...

, 27th president of Brazil *

João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...

, current President of Angola and previous Minister of Defence * João Magueijo, Portuguese cosmologist * João Marinho Neto (born 1912), Brazilian supercentenarian, current world's oldest living man *

João da Nova João da Nova (; ; ; in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia, Spain – July 16, 1509, in Kochi, India) was a Galician-born explorer in the service of Portugal. He is credited as the discoverer of Ascension and Saint Helena islands. The Juan de Nova ...

, 15th-century Portuguese explorer * João Ramalho (1493–1582), Portuguese explorer and adventurer, attributed as the first bandeirante *

João Rodrigues Cabrilho João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the ...

, 16th-century Portuguese explorer * João de Trasto, 15th-century Portuguese explorer *

João Gonçalves Zarco João Gonçalves Zarco ( 1390 – 21 November 1471) was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira, Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator. Life Zarco was born in ...

, Portuguese navigator, co-discoverer of the Madeira islands *

John of God John of God, Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, O.H. (; ; born João Duarte Cidade Help:IPA/Portuguese, �ʒwɐ̃w̃ duˈwaɾ.t siˈða.ðɨ March 8, 1495 – March 8, 1550) was a Portuguese People, Portuguese soldier turned healthc ...

or João de Deus, Iberian saint

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Portuguese masculine given names Masculine given names