João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified 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. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

is Joãozinho and the feminine is

Joana Joana the equivalent of Joanna in Catalan language, Catalan () and Portuguese language, Portuguese (). The Galician language, Galician form of the name is Xoana (). It may refer to: * Joana Benedek – a Mexican actress * Joana of Braganza, a.k.a. ...

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

Kings

João I of Kongo Nzinga-a-Nkuwu João I (né Nzinga-a-Nkuwu), was the 5th ManiKongo of the Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo-dia-Ntotila in Kikongo language) between 1470 and 1509. He voluntarily converted to Roman Catholicism. He was baptized on 3 May 1491 and took the ...

, ruled 1470–1509 * João II of Lemba or João Manuel II of Kongo, ruled 1680–1716 * Dharmapala of Kotte, last King of the

Kingdom of Kotte The Kingdom of Kotte ( si, කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, Kottay Rajadhaniya), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Kotte, under the rule of Ming-backe ...

, reigned 1551–1597

Princes

João Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugal João is the Portuguese equivalent of 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 * ...

(1537–1554), son of John III *

Infante João, Duke of Beja Infante João, Duke of Beja (; en, John; 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 ...

(1842–1861)

Arts and literature

João Bosco João Bosco de Freitas Mucci, known professionally as João Bosco () is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist. In the 1970s he established his reputation in ''música popular Brasileira'' (Portuguese: "Brazilian pop music") with lyricist ...

, Brazilian musician * João Cabral de Melo Neto, Brazilian poet and diplomat *

Joao Constancia Joao Micael Villanueva Constancia (born December 22, 1996) is a Filipino actor, singer, and dancer. Constancia is known for his roles in ''Four Sisters Before the Wedding'' (2020) and ''He's Into Her'' (2021), both produced by Star Cinema. His ...

, Filipino singer, actor and dancer * João Donato, Brazilian musician * João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos, Portuguese poet *

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto 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 was of ...

, 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, Ba ...

, 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 João Ubaldo Ribeiro (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2014) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Br ...

, Brazilian writer, journalist, and professor *

João Vasco Paiva João Vasco Paiva (born 1979, Coimbra, Portugal) is a Hong Kong-based contemporary artist. Biography João Vasco Paiva received a BFA from the Escola Superior Artistica do Porto in 2004 and an MFA in Creative Media from the City University of Ho ...

, Portuguese artist

Sportspeople

Footballers

* João Félix, Portuguese footballer *

João Moutinho João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (; born 8 September 1986) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Portugal national team. Moutinho began his professional care ...

, Portuguese footballer * João Mário (footballer, born January 1993), Portuguese footballer *

João Pereira (disambiguation) João Pereira may refer to: *João José Pereira (born 1987), Portuguese triathlete * Jamba (footballer) (born 1977), Angolan footballer *João Pereira (footballer, born 1984), Portuguese right back *João Pereira (footballer, born 1990), Portuguese ...

, several Portuguese footballers *

João Pinto João Manuel Vieira Pinto (; born 19 August 1971) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played mostly as a forward. Blessed with playmaking and goalscoring ability, he made his name mostly at a domestic level and as a key figur ...

, Portuguese footballer * João Cancelo, Portuguese footballer * João Tomás, Portuguese footballer *

Lucas João Lucas Eduardo dos Santos João (born 4 September 1993), known as Lucas João, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Reading and the Angola national team. After starting out at Nacional, he went on to spen ...

, 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 João Carlos Brenha Alves Pereira (born May 6, 1970 in Espinho) is a beach volleyball player from Portugal, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1996. He ended up in fourth place in Atlanta (1996 ...

, Portuguese beach volleyball player * João Cunha e Silva, Portuguese tennis player *

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

, Brazilian president of FIFA from 1974–1998 * João José, Portuguese volleyball player * João José Pereira, Portuguese triathlete *

João Sousa João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa (born 30 March 1989), known as João Sousa (), is a Portuguese professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 28 on 16 May 2016 and a doubles ranking of No. 26 on 13 May 20 ...

, 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 in Beijing, where he competed in the individual foil event. He lost ...

, Brazilian fencer

Other people

* João Armando Gonçalves, head of the World Organization of the Scout Movement * João Biehl, Brazilian anthropologist * João Rodrigues Cabrilho, 16th-century Portuguese explorer * João Doria, Brazilian politician * John of God or João de Deus, Iberian saint *

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...

, 27th president of Brazil *

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

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

João Magueijo João Magueijo (born 1967) is a Portuguese cosmologist and professor in theoretical physics at Imperial College London. He is a pioneer of the varying speed of light (VSL) theory. Education and career João Magueijo studied physics at the Uni ...

, Portuguese cosmologist *

João da Nova João da Nova ( gl, Xoán de Novoa, Joam de Nôvoa; es, Juan de Nova; ; born c. 1460 in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia; died July 16, 1509 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese-Galician explorer of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the service of Portuga ...

, 15th-century Portuguese explorer * João Teixeira de Faria, Brazilian faith healer * João de Trasto, 15th-century Portuguese explorer *

João Amoêdo João Dionisio Filgueira Barreto Amoêdo (born 22 October 1962 in Rio de Janeiro), also known as João Amoêdo, is a Brazilian banker, engineer and businessman. He is one of the founders of the New Party (NOVO), which he presided from Septembe ...

, Brazilian engineer and company administrator *

João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician, who has served as the president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, he became the Cha ...

, current President of Angola and previous Minister of Defence

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Portuguese masculine given names