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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

References