John

For most of the past millennium, John was simply what English-speaking boys were named — so much so that one in five medieval English men wore it. It comes from the Hebrew Yochanan, God is gracious, and travels under many disguises: Juan, Ivan, Jean, Sean, Giovanni, Johannes. The Baptist, the Evangelist, the Beatle, the Kennedy. John sat at the top of American name charts for decades and, though it has slipped from that throne, remains in steady use. One syllable, blunt as a doorknock. It accepts no frills and offers none in return. The name equivalent of a white t-shirt — never the statement, always the foundation.