Boys' name · since 1880
Joe
Joe has 453,255 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1936 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #70 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #991 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 453,255
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Yes -- Joe is the #991 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 453,255 recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Joe has been recorded 453,255 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #991 nationally and more common than 93% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1940s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #70 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #991 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 453,255 born since 1880
- 1940s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Joe ranks #70 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #991 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 453,255 born since 1880, peaking in the 1940s.
- #70 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #991 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 453,255
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Joe's 453,255 recorded births place it above 99.84% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Joe compares
453,255 Top 1% higher than 99% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Joe's all-time total is 1,228x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Joe | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 453,255 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 8,023 | 34 | 22,252 |
Joe's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Joe's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 37% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 63%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 2025, with only 230 births recorded -- set against the 1936 peak of 8,023, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Joe popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1936)
- 8,023
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Joe popularity over time - girls
11,319 total births recorded since 1880 (Joe as girls' name)
Joe by decade
1940s is the heaviest window (72,015 births, 16% of the file).
1940s was Joe's strongest decade.
72,015 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.
Joe births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 7,098
1880s
7,098 births
- 1890s 7,482
1890s
7,482 births
- 1900s 10,466
1900s
10,466 births
- 1910s
1910s
38,250 births
- 1920s
1920s
62,676 births
- 1930s
1930s
71,470 births
- 1940s
1940s
72,015 births
- 1950s
1950s
62,620 births
- 1960s
1960s
53,386 births
- 1970s 24,949
1970s
24,949 births
- 1980s 16,508
1980s
16,508 births
- 1990s 11,907
1990s
11,907 births
- 2000s 8,212
2000s
8,212 births
- 2010s 4,549
2010s
4,549 births
- 2020s 1,667
2020s
1,667 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 72,015 births (16% of all-time use).
How Joe compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Joe's total volume
Joe by state
Where Joe concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 87,651 | 19.3% |
| #2 | California | | 39,016 | 8.6% |
| #3 | Tennessee | | 19,876 | 4.4% |
| #4 | Alabama | | 18,218 | 4.0% |
| #5 | Mississippi | | 16,782 | 3.7% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 16,661 | 3.7% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 14,955 | 3.3% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 14,194 | 3.1% |
87,651 of 453,255 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Joe appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Joe? ▼
Where does Joe sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Joe most popular? ▼
Where is Joe most popular? ▼
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What to do with Joe's data
- Joe's decade-level peak was the 1940s (72,015 total births); usage has since declined to 1,667 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Joes (87,651 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Joe
Nearby Names Like Joe
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Joe
Compare Joe side by side: Joe vs Joel Joe vs Joey Joe vs Joesph
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Joe
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Joe: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1936)
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 Joe 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.