Joanna was named after her paternal Aunt for her first name. Her middle name is Katherine. She was given that middle name during a train trip her mother and father took from Raleigh, NC to Washington, DC in 2007 while her mother was pregnant with Joanna. For the trip, her mother bought a magazine and Katherine Heigl was on the cover. Seeing Katherine Heigl, both her mother and father agreed Katherine would be Joanna's middle name.
