Joel

#13,208 for girls in 2025, 6 births · #219 for boys in 2025, 1,633 births
Given to boys 99.1% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1981 · 4,540 births
Debut · boys
41 births
In top 100 · boys
26 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
279,655
since 1880

Joel over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201982peak #65, 1981boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#13,2086#2191,633
2024#11,1228#2191,638
2023#11,1698#2121,745
2022#2091,780
2021#12,2067#2111,797
2020#2071,843
2019#13,7996#1872,095
2018#11,4278#1882,132
2017#14,1246#1772,265
2016#10,11310#1662,427
2015#16,4195#1582,602
2014#9,51711#1542,672
2013#1442,727
2012#1442,780
2011#8,61413#1323,056
2010#11,2469#1323,065
2009#17,2945#1163,564
2008#11,5999#1133,744
2007#10,81810#1233,423
2006#8,23714#1233,455
2005#8,33013#1233,275
2004#8,71612#1243,237
2003#9,04811#1243,245
2002#7,04515#1223,191
2001#6,95615#1263,167
2000#6,80815#1123,380
1999#5,89617#1153,185
1998#6,36015#1173,172
1997#5,22819#1262,989
1996#4,45323#1243,004
1995#4,09925#1203,100
1994#4,23824#1083,368
1993#3,68129#1013,557
1992#4,23624#1003,667
1991#2,93539#1003,762
1990#3,02237#944,000
1989#4,02024#883,939
1988#2,53942#853,940
1987#2,78035#754,138
1986#2,14849#724,507
1985#2,54538#674,623
1984#2,22744#664,524
1983#2,04749#674,345
1982#2,45139#694,446
1981#2,15847#654,540
1980#2,15447#674,564
1979#2,34340#714,216
1978#2,15943#743,810
1977#2,02647#733,824
1976#2,38734#723,722
1975#2,09741#743,729
1974#1,73352#753,491
1973#2,62927#733,570
1972#1,94642#783,528
1971#1,85747#863,499
1970#1,95243#823,839
1969#1,30375#803,681
1968#1,33469#803,683
1967#1,25573#903,476
1966#1,017103#1023,232
1965#1,88737#1142,860
1964#2,67522#1103,135
1963#2,86419#1103,237
1962#2,74120#1133,298
1961#2,41125#1103,518
1960#2,51223#1103,712
1959#3,10415#1163,458
1958#2,02530#1203,224
1957#2,16826#1043,604
1956#2,32123#1063,436
1955#2,22224#1212,806
1954#1,90930#1272,596
1953#2,23622#1342,302
1952#1,97826#1322,228
1951#2,81014#1292,162
1950#1,79428#1302,043
1949#2,85013#1381,987
1948#1,90125#1372,026
1947#1,75230#1332,144
1946#1,80825#1271,999
1945#1,69924#1341,597
1944#1,80822#1251,714
1943#1,55629#1281,745
1942#1,66825#1341,595
1941#2,01817#1421,339
1940#1,59124#1401,278
1939#1,54424#1351,295
1938#1,75220#1341,262
1937#1,49325#1391,116
1936#1,26732#1461,060
1935#1,33130#157919
1934#1,60322#172815
1933#2,27513#185666
1932#2,23514#206624
1931#2,75010#242477
1930#2,11016#263455
1929#2,30114#272420
1928#2,76811#278415
1927#2,85911#284392
1926#3,04610#291379
1925#2,28316#294379
1924#2,66113#295377
1923#2,73212#303348
1922#2,78012#294368
1921#2,76212#281395
1920#308346
1919#3,2199#280358
1918#3,2449#294348
1917#4,0836#300308
1916#3,5527#309282
1915#3,7956#311272
1914#321200
1913#307167
1912#2,9795#332129
1911#35759
1910#33255
1909#32550
1908#33545
1907#28654
1906#28649
1905#28448
1904#29443
1903#34032
1902#31238
1901#30234
1900#37535
1899#28637
1898#25548
1897#33131
1896#30637
1895#29537
1894#26144
1893#23952
1892#29239
1891#29731
1890#28237
1889#27437
1888#25248
1887#22748
1886#24349
1885#21356
1884#22156
1883#21251
1882#22254
1881#19757
1880#26241
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Joel was already there! It came in at #262, and was given to 41 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1889–1892, when fewer than 40 boys a year got the name.

See more about Joel
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • Held #219 since 2024
  • 12 spots since 2020 (#207#219)
  • 61 spots since 2015 (#158#219)
  • Biggest jump: 76 spots in 1898 (#331#255)
  • Biggest drop: 89 spots in 1900 (#286#375)
Rise & fade · boys
101 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1981 at #65 (4,540 births)
  • Births halved by 2017, 36 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 26 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 26 yrs · run 1967–1992
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 391
  • Highest: 1 in 391 boys born in 1980 were named Joel (0.26%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,046 boys born in 2025 (0.10%)
  • Its best rank, #65 in 1981, was only 1 in 395 (0.25%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1980s
  • 15.6% of all boys named Joel (43,566) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s497#197 (1881)#232
1890s393#239 (1893)#284
1900s428#284 (1905)#314
1910s2,178#280 (1919)#314
1920s3,819#272 (1929)#290
1930s8,689#134 (1938)#178
1940s17,424#125 (1944)#134
1950s27,859#104 (1957)#122
1960s33,832#80 (1968)#102
1970s37,228#71 (1979)#76
1980s43,566#65 (1981)#72
1990s33,804#94 (1990)#111
2000s33,681#112 (2000)#121
2010s25,821#132 (2010)#158
2020s10,436#207 (2020)#213

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Joel in 1982

girls
#2,451
39 births · 1 in 43,419 girls
boys
#69
4,446 births · 1 in 408 boys

Top girls' names in 1982

  1. #1Jennifer57,120
  2. #2Jessica45,453
  3. #3Amanda34,214
  4. #4Sarah28,483
  5. #5Melissa25,864
  6. #6Nicole21,706
  7. #7Stephanie20,861
  8. #8Elizabeth20,506
  9. #9Crystal19,099
  10. #10Amy18,799
  11. #2,451Joel39

Top boys' names in 1982

  1. #1Michael68,216
  2. #2Christopher59,223
  3. #3Matthew46,045
  4. #4Jason40,628
  5. #5David40,453
  6. #6James38,874
  7. #7Joshua38,004
  8. #8John34,698
  9. #9Robert34,409
  10. #10Daniel32,652
  11. #69Joel4,446
More about 1982

girls

1,693,325 girls got a published name in 1982; 1 in 43,419 of them was named Joel, which outranked 80.1% of the 12,332 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joel
  1. #2,414Willow40
  2. #2,414Yanet40
  3. #2,414Yasmeen40
  4. #2,451Joel39
  5. #2,451Adena39
  6. #2,451Alyce39
  7. #2,451Amberlee39
  8. #2,492Adeline38
  9. #2,492Amara38
  10. #2,492America38

Tied with 40 names at #2,451; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1981
Risers
  1. 1,715Kaleena#2,375#660
  2. 1,197Kala#1,958#761
  3. 1,094Chelsie#2,028#934
  4. 1,081Tenika#2,028#947
  5. 1,044Falon#1,958#914
Fallers
  1. 538Evita#779#1,317
  2. 517Martine#791#1,308
  3. 473Dusty#720#1,193
  4. 470Regan#991#1,461
  5. 401Windy#998#1,399

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,814,447 boys got a published name in 1982; 1 in 408 of them was named Joel, which outranked 99.1% of the 7,367 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.9% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joel
  1. #66Tyler4,577
  2. #67Phillip4,520
  3. #68Douglas4,511
  4. #69Joel4,446
  5. #70Raymond4,294
  6. #71Carlos4,268
  7. #72Brett4,026
Biggest movers since 1981
Risers
  1. 1,958Colt#2,418#460
  2. 730Eliot#1,695#965
  3. 532Colton#1,334#802
  4. 478Kiel#1,101#623
  5. 416Eugenio#1,411#995
Fallers
  1. 309Marchello#841#1,150
  2. 237Carmen#851#1,088
  3. 234Claudio#976#1,210
  4. 224Irvin#826#1,050
  5. 222Jeramiah#971#1,193

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1982