João is a given name of Portuguese and Hebrew 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.
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
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