Girls' name · since 1880
Joan
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 481,238 babies named Joan, peaking in 1932. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #65 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,087 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 481,238
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Joan currently ranks #1087 among girls' names in America, with 481,238 babies recorded since 1880.
Joan has 481,238 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1087 as of the latest data, more common than 94% of girls, busiest in the 1930s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #65 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,087 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 481,238 born since 1880
- 1930s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Joan ranks #65 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,087 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 481,238 born since 1880, peaking in the 1930s.
- #65 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,087 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 481,238
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Joan's 481,238 recorded births place it above 99.91% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Joan compares
481,238 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Joan's all-time total is 1,280x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Joan | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 481,238 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 21,044 | 21 | 19,840 |
Joan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Joan's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 22% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 78%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1881, with only 6 births recorded -- set against the 1932 peak of 21,044, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Joan popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1932)
- 21,044
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Joan popularity over time - boys
7,701 total births recorded since 1903 (Joan as boys' name)
Joan by decade
1930s is the heaviest window (173,439 births, 36% of the file).
1930s was Joan's strongest decade.
173,439 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 36% of all-time use.
Joan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 121
1880s
121 births
- 1890s 267
1890s
267 births
- 1900s 863
1900s
863 births
- 1910s 7,021
1910s
7,021 births
- 1920s 45,351
1920s
45,351 births
- 1930s
1930s
173,439 births
- 1940s
1940s
117,708 births
- 1950s
1950s
85,179 births
- 1960s 36,676
1960s
36,676 births
- 1970s 6,480
1970s
6,480 births
- 1980s 3,300
1980s
3,300 births
- 1990s 1,858
1990s
1,858 births
- 2000s 1,003
2000s
1,003 births
- 2010s 941
2010s
941 births
- 2020s 1,031
2020s
1,031 births
What this shows Peak: 1930s at 173,439 births (36% of all-time use).
How Joan compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Joan's total volume
Joan by state
Where Joan concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 81,554 | 16.9% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 47,981 | 10.0% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 31,023 | 6.4% |
| #4 | New Jersey | | 27,584 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Massachusetts | | 25,293 | 5.3% |
| #6 | California | | 24,162 | 5.0% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 23,840 | 5.0% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 22,001 | 4.6% |
81,554 of 481,238 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Joan appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Joan? ▼
Where does Joan sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Joan most popular? ▼
Where is Joan most popular? ▼
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What to do with Joan's data
- Joan's decade-level peak was the 1930s (173,439 total births); usage has since declined to 1,031 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Joans (81,554 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Joan
Nearby Names Like Joan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Joan
Compare Joan side by side: Joan vs Joanne Joan vs Joann Joan vs Joanna
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Joan
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Joan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1932)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Joan draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.