Joel
Joel was given to 1,633 boys in 2025, #219 among boys’ names; 282,250 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 233,000 Americans named Joel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 40 years old and half are between 23 and 56.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Joel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Joel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Joel is “a male given name from Hebrew.”
From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, “Yahweh (is) God”). As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Breton Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn). Cf. Elijah.
/ˈd͡ʒoʊ(ə)l/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Joel?
#219 among boys’ names, 2025
Joel fell from #159 in 2015 to #219 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.4 to 1.0 per 1,000.
4,661 babies in 1985, the peak
Joel peaked in 1985, when 4,661 babies were given it (4,623 boys, #67 among boys’ names). The 1,639 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 35% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,633 | #219 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 1,638 | #219 | 1.0 |
| 2023 | 1,745 | #212 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | 1,780 | #209 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,797 | #211 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | 1,843 | #207 | 1.1 |
| 2019 | 2,095 | #187 | 1.2 |
| 2018 | 2,132 | #188 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | 2,265 | #177 | 1.2 |
| 2016 | 2,427 | #166 | 1.3 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,602 | #159 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 2,672 | #154 | 1.4 |
| 2013 | 2,727 | #144 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 2,780 | #144 | 1.5 |
| 2011 | 3,056 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 3,065 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2009 | 3,564 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 2008 | 3,744 | #113 | 1.8 |
| 2007 | 3,423 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 2006 | 3,455 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 2005 | 3,275 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 2004 | 3,237 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 2003 | 3,245 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 2002 | 3,191 | #122 | 1.6 |
| 2001 | 3,167 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | 3,380 | #112 | 1.7 |
| 1999 | 3,185 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 1998 | 3,172 | #117 | 1.7 |
| 1997 | 2,989 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1996 | 3,004 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 1995 | 3,100 | #120 | 1.6 |
| 1994 | 3,368 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1993 | 3,557 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1992 | 3,667 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1991 | 3,762 | #100 | 1.9 |
| 1990 | 4,000 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1989 | 3,939 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1988 | 3,940 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1987 | 4,138 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1986 | 4,507 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | 4,623 | #67 | 2.5 |
| 1984 | 4,524 | #66 | 2.5 |
| 1983 | 4,345 | #67 | 2.4 |
| 1982 | 4,446 | #69 | 2.5 |
| 1981 | 4,540 | #65 | 2.5 |
| 1980 | 4,564 | #67 | 2.6 |
| 1979 | 4,216 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 1978 | 3,810 | #74 | 2.3 |
| 1977 | 3,824 | #73 | 2.3 |
| 1976 | 3,722 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1975 | 3,729 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1974 | 3,491 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1973 | 3,570 | #73 | 2.3 |
| 1972 | 3,528 | #78 | 2.2 |
| 1971 | 3,499 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1970 | 3,839 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1969 | 3,681 | #80 | 2.1 |
| 1968 | 3,683 | #80 | 2.1 |
| 1967 | 3,476 | #90 | 2.0 |
| 1966 | 3,232 | #102 | 1.8 |
| 1965 | 2,860 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1964 | 3,135 | #110 | 1.6 |
| 1963 | 3,237 | #110 | 1.6 |
| 1962 | 3,298 | #113 | 1.6 |
| 1961 | 3,518 | #110 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 3,712 | #110 | 1.7 |
| 1959 | 3,458 | #116 | 1.6 |
| 1958 | 3,224 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1957 | 3,604 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 1956 | 3,436 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1955 | 2,806 | #121 | 1.4 |
| 1954 | 2,596 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1953 | 2,302 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1952 | 2,228 | #132 | 1.1 |
| 1951 | 2,162 | #129 | 1.1 |
| 1950 | 2,043 | #130 | 1.1 |
| 1949 | 1,987 | #138 | 1.1 |
| 1948 | 2,026 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1947 | 2,144 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 1,999 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,597 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1944 | 1,714 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1943 | 1,745 | #128 | 1.2 |
| 1942 | 1,595 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1941 | 1,339 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1940 | 1,278 | #140 | 1.1 |
| 1939 | 1,295 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1938 | 1,262 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1937 | 1,116 | #139 | 1.0 |
| 1936 | 1,060 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1935 | 919 | #157 | 0.88 |
| 1934 | 815 | #172 | 0.79 |
| 1933 | 666 | #185 | 0.67 |
| 1932 | 624 | #206 | 0.60 |
| 1931 | 477 | #242 | 0.46 |
| 1930 | 455 | #263 | 0.41 |
| 1929 | 420 | #272 | 0.39 |
| 1928 | 415 | #278 | 0.37 |
| 1927 | 392 | #285 | 0.35 |
| 1926 | 379 | #291 | 0.34 |
| 1925 | 379 | #294 | 0.34 |
| 1924 | 377 | #295 | 0.33 |
| 1923 | 348 | #303 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 368 | #294 | 0.34 |
| 1921 | 395 | #281 | 0.36 |
| 1920 | 346 | #308 | 0.33 |
| 1919 | 358 | #280 | 0.37 |
| 1918 | 348 | #296 | 0.34 |
| 1917 | 308 | #301 | 0.33 |
| 1916 | 282 | #310 | 0.32 |
| 1915 | 272 | #313 | 0.32 |
| 1914 | 200 | #322 | 0.31 |
| 1913 | 167 | #310 | 0.33 |
| 1912 | 129 | #333 | 0.30 |
| 1911 | 59 | #359 | 0.26 |
| 1910 | 55 | #335 | 0.28 |
| 1909 | 50 | #328 | 0.30 |
| 1908 | 45 | #339 | 0.29 |
| 1907 | 54 | #288 | 0.37 |
| 1906 | 49 | #292 | 0.37 |
| 1905 | 48 | #289 | 0.36 |
| 1904 | 43 | #298 | 0.34 |
| 1903 | 32 | #343 | 0.27 |
| 1902 | 38 | #314 | 0.31 |
| 1901 | 34 | #307 | 0.32 |
| 1900 | 35 | #380 | 0.23 |
| 1899 | 37 | #286 | 0.35 |
| 1898 | 48 | #260 | 0.39 |
| 1897 | 31 | #334 | 0.27 |
| 1896 | 37 | #307 | 0.31 |
| 1895 | 37 | #298 | 0.32 |
| 1894 | 44 | #266 | 0.38 |
| 1893 | 52 | #240 | 0.46 |
| 1892 | 39 | #294 | 0.32 |
| 1891 | 31 | #300 | 0.31 |
| 1890 | 37 | #287 | 0.33 |
| 1889 | 37 | #278 | 0.33 |
| 1888 | 48 | #253 | 0.40 |
| 1887 | 48 | #229 | 0.47 |
| 1886 | 49 | #246 | 0.44 |
| 1885 | 56 | #215 | 0.52 |
| 1884 | 56 | #221 | 0.49 |
| 1883 | 51 | #213 | 0.49 |
| 1882 | 54 | #223 | 0.47 |
| 1881 | 57 | #198 | 0.57 |
| 1880 | 41 | #263 | 0.37 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Joel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Joel has been given almost only to boys: 2,595 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Joel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Joel, and how old are they?
233,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 282,250 Americans ever recorded as Joel. The median Joel alive today is 40 years old; half are between 23 and 56.
The 2020 Census counted 256,017 people named Joel (1,571 women and girls, 254,446 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 233,978 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,840 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 36,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 52,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 60,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 51,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 27,200 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Joel born?
The states with the most babies named Joel are California, Texas and New York, with 33% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 34,601 | #152 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 29,823 | #151 | 1.4× |
| New York | 27,074 | #192 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 12,535 | #221 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 11,541 | #278 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 11,114 | #202 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 10,440 | #317 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 9,474 | #245 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 7,895 | #235 | 1.0× |
| Minnesota | 7,578 | #349 | 1.4× |
Where Joel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Joel is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Joel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 284,727 babies since 1880, Joel is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,639 of their 1,659 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Joel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Joel and names like it
- Compare Joel and JoellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sJoel peaked in 1985.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Joel since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Joel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1985The year the most babies were named Joel.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Joel alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with JMost given first.