Joe

Where Joe comes from

Short form (diminutive form) of various names beginning with Jo..., particularly the male names Joseph and, less often, Joel, Josiah and Josias. The spelling Jo is used more often for diminutives of similar female names.
— Wiktionary's entry for Joe
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year, and the peak
    #20 among boys with 731 babies — the first year on record, and still its best.
  2. 1943
    Joe Pesci born
    American actor
  3. 1944
    Joe Frazier born
    American boxer
  4. 2017
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #684.
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given names Joseph, Josiah, Joel, and Josias.
  • Alternative form of Jo: a diminutive of various female given names.
Namesakes
  • Joe Frazier · American boxer, 1944–2011
  • Joe Pesci · American actor, born 1943
  • Joe Hart · English association football player, born 1987
  • Joe Louis · American boxer, 1914–1981
  • Joe Cole · English association football player, born 1981

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.