How many times does John mention himself by name in the Gospels?

Answer 1

The Gospel now known as John's Gospel does not mention the disciple John, but does mention "the sons of Zebedee", a reference that would include the disciple John, in verse 21:2. The Gospel also mentions a 'disciple whom Jesus loved', whom the second-century Church Fathers decided was also a reference to the disciple John.

The New Testament were originally written anonymously, so we do not really know who wrote John's Gospel or whether it had anything to do with John at all. When the Church Fathers were attempting to establish who probably wrote each of the gospels, they felt that the reference to the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' was modesty on the part of the author, and that this was the author himself. Therefore, they said, the author was John.