João

For the João Gilberto album, see João (album).

João

Pronunciation	English: /ʒuˈaʊn/ zhoo-OWN Portuguese: [ʒuˈɐ̃w]
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	Hebrew, via Portuguese
Meaning	"YHWH has been gracious", "graced by YHWH" (Yohanan)
Other names
Related names	John, Jean, Evan, Giovanni, Hannes, Hans, Juan, Hovhannes, Ian, Iain, Ioan, Ioane, Ivan, Iven, Ifan, Jack, Jackson, Jan, Jane, Janez, Jhon, Joan, Johan/Johann, Johanan, Johannes, Jonne, Jovan, Juhani, Seán, Eoin, Shane, Siôn, Xoán, Yahya, Yohannes

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 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
• João I of Kongo, ruled 1470–1509
• João II of Lemba or João Manuel II of Kongo, ruled 1680–1716
• Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara, last King of the Kingdom of Kotte, reigned 1551–1597

Princes

• João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (1537–1554), son of John III
• Infante João, Duke of Beja (1842–1861)

Arts and literature

• João Borsch, Portuguese musician
• João Bosco, Brazilian musician
• João Canijo (1957–2026), Portuguese film director
• Joao Constancia, Filipino singer, actor and dancer
• João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos, Portuguese poet
• João Donato, Brazilian musician
• João Gilberto, Brazilian musician
• João Simões Lopes Neto, Brazilian writer
• João Frederico Ludovice, German-born Portuguese architect and goldsmith
• João Abel Manta, Portuguese architect, painter, illustrator and cartoonist
• João Cabral de Melo Neto, Brazilian poet and diplomat
• João Miguel (actor), Brazilian actor
• João César Monteiro, Portuguese film director
• João Nogueira, Brazilian musician
• João Vasco Paiva, Portuguese artist
• Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
• João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian writer, journalist, and professor
• João do Rio, Brazilian writer
• João Pedro Rodrigues, Portuguese film director
• João Guimarães Rosa, Brazilian novelist, short story writer, and diplomat

Sportspeople

Footballers

• João Félix, Portuguese footballer
• João Neves, 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, Portuguese footballer
• Lucas João, 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, Portuguese racing driver
• João Brenha, Portuguese beach volleyball player
• João Matos Cunha, Brazilian para athlete
• João Cunha e Silva, Portuguese tennis player
• João Fonseca (tennis), Brazilian tennis player
• João Havelange, Brazilian president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998
• João José, Portuguese volleyball player
• João Moreira, jockey currently based in Hong Kong
• João José Pereira, Portuguese triathlete
• João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player
• João Souza, Brazilian tennis player
• João Souza (fencer), 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, 27th president of Brazil
• João Lourenço, 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, 15th-century Portuguese explorer
• João Ramalho (1493–1582), Portuguese explorer and adventurer, attributed as the first bandeirante
• João Rodrigues Cabrilho, 16th-century Portuguese explorer
• João de Trasto, 15th-century Portuguese explorer
• João Gonçalves Zarco, Portuguese navigator, co-discoverer of the Madeira islands
• John of God or João de Deus, Iberian saint

Fictional characters

• João, a non-playable Mii opponent in the Wii series

See also

• São João (disambiguation), Portuguese for Saint John
• João and the Knife, a 1972 Dutch-Brazilian film by George Sluizer
• John of Portugal (disambiguation), multiple people