Joy

#419 for girls in 2025, 747 births · #3,949 for boys in 2025, 27 births
Given to girls 98.2% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1974 · 2,757 births
Debut · girls
9 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
140,694
since 1885

Joy over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Joy has never cracked the top 100 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201991peak #109, 1974girls
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#419747#3,94927
2024#440707#4,89020
2023#450683#5,92715
2022#461688#4,85020
2021#407779#6,33513
2020#395788#5,04118
2019#343918#6,10414
2018#353902#7,13611
2017#335968#5,29717
2016#352954#7,60510
2015#430734#6,67612
2014#457699#4,26323
2013#470653#5,92314
2012#495622#7,05011
2011#502585#7,50210
2010#477632#5,25117
2009#516587#7,69210
2008#535575#9,0198
2007#520604#7,09411
2006#501608#7,9989
2005#510584#7,6409
2004#479615#9,9486
2003#494583#5,87712
2002#476590#6,52210
2001#480580#8,3397
2000#457607#5,92011
1999#448596#6,5309
1998#442583#9,6315
1997#438580#4,66813
1996#434587#4,61313
1995#434593#7,7926
1994#428589#5,10911
1993#399632#4,22714
1992#409616#6,1288
1991#362710#3,46217
1990#375697#3,46717
1989#316802#3,44616
1988#295837#2,86019
1987#286862#3,73112
1986#2491,036#3,88211
1985#2301,123#3,40113
1984#2241,155#3,70111
1983#2111,191#3,23013
1982#2031,335#2,83116
1981#1701,622#3,22113
1980#1651,717#4,1349
1979#1541,821#2,15723
1978#1391,946#3,07013
1977#1362,100#2,45818
1976#1322,076#2,70915
1975#1232,306#3,42810
1974#1092,757#1,88624
1973#1621,697#2,51315
1972#1601,817#2,99111
1971#1691,826#2,97311
1970#1841,773#2,29316
1969#1871,691#1,91419
1968#1701,904#2,20014
1967#1691,885#2,13914
1966#1652,090#1,81418
1965#1771,975#3,2447
1964#1752,219#1,85019
1963#1782,181#2,04416
1962#1692,426#2,03516
1961#1582,609#1,68623
1960#1522,776#1,81220
1959#1462,880#1,97417
1958#1472,764#1,53426
1957#1432,929#2,01916
1956#1402,819#2,09115
1955#1522,389#1,90217
1954#1512,367#1,70620
1953#1512,307#2,7099
1952#1492,276#1,43028
1951#1552,012#1,97215
1950#1591,775#1,65720
1949#1711,642#1,70219
1948#1711,627#1,81717
1947#1661,815#1,91616
1946#1701,573#1,64219
1945#1681,389#1,69716
1944#1631,456#1,28227
1943#1571,610#1,30828
1942#1541,592#1,11937
1941#1501,550#1,33325
1940#1601,310#1,25129
1939#1661,259#1,27227
1938#1591,372#1,33725
1937#1621,236#93245
1936#1441,483#89347
1935#1481,349#98042
1934#1521,342#1,00741
1933#1471,291#1,02839
1932#1471,361#1,07739
1931#1521,224#88752
1930#1631,268#92852
1929#1771,138#1,02644
1928#1881,091#1,00347
1927#1831,127#84963
1926#210892#98049
1925#236772#85161
1924#273578#1,07144
1923#277540#1,12840
1922#309447#84066
1921#332392#1,01847
1920#336376#98748
1919#358322#86758
1918#377303#1,12437
1917#393256#1,01741
1916#429214#98442
1915#445190#1,08235
1914#428158#1,18824
1913#453120#1,07522
1912#59168#1,61910
1911#52263#1,5376
1910#60448#98111
1909#50954#1,2776
1908#61738
1907#60138#1,0947
1906#55540#1,0047
1905#56438#1,0916
1904#55936#76010
1903#59630#7839
1902#51838#7949
1901#63025
1900#68827#83610
1899#64423#1,0515
1898#75020#1,1215
1897#53730#9426
1896#75418#9826
1895#62224
1894#64321
1893#95510
1892#72616#9566
1891#72714
1890#87210
1889#56720
1888#83710
1887#9377
1886#9936
1885#7459
1884
1883#8925
1882
1881
1880
First appearance
1885

The first year at least five girls were named Joy! It came in at #745, and was given to 9 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1885–1887, when fewer than 10 girls a year got the name.

See more about Joy
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 21 spots since 2024 (#440#419)
  • 24 spots since 2020 (#395#419)
  • 11 spots since 2015 (#430#419)
  • Biggest jump: 312 spots in 1894 (#955#643)
  • Biggest drop: 305 spots in 1890 (#567#872)
Rise & fade · girls
89 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1885
  • Peaked 1974 at #109 (2,757 births)
  • Births halved by 1982, 8 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 141 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 141 yrs · run 1885–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 532
  • Highest: 1 in 532 girls born in 1974 were named Joy (0.19%)
  • Latest: 1 in 2,152 girls born in 2025 (0.05%)
Era · girls
The 1950s
  • 17.4% of all girls named Joy (24,518) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s52#567 (1889)#816
1890s186#537 (1897)#723
1900s364#509 (1909)#584
1910s1,742#358 (1919)#460
1920s7,353#177 (1929)#252
1930s13,185#144 (1936)#154
1940s15,564#150 (1941)#163
1950s24,518#140 (1956)#149
1960s21,756#152 (1960)#170
1970s20,119#109 (1974)#147
1980s11,680#165 (1980)#235
1990s6,183#362 (1991)#417
2000s5,933#457 (2000)#497
2010s7,667#335 (2017)#421
2020s4,392#395 (2020)#429

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

Joy in 1991

girls
#362
710 births · 1 in 2,641 girls
boys
#3,462
17 births · 1 in 118,843 boys

Top girls' names in 1991

  1. #1Ashley43,477
  2. #2Jessica43,398
  3. #3Brittany29,093
  4. #4Amanda28,896
  5. #5Samantha25,651
  6. #6Sarah25,233
  7. #7Stephanie22,775
  8. #8Jennifer20,673
  9. #9Elizabeth20,395
  10. #10Emily20,311
  11. #362Joy710

Top boys' names in 1991

  1. #1Michael60,810
  2. #2Christopher47,111
  3. #3Matthew41,647
  4. #4Joshua41,226
  5. #5Andrew31,539
  6. #6Daniel30,935
  7. #7James30,514
  8. #8David30,416
  9. #9Joseph29,840
  10. #10John27,809
  11. #3,462Joy17
More about 1991

girls

1,875,007 girls got a published name in 1991; 1 in 2,641 of them was named Joy, which outranked 97.7% of the 15,466 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 14.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joy
  1. #359Tierra714
  2. #360Diane711
  3. #360Frances711
  4. #362Joy710
  5. #363Jane708
  6. #364Anastasia706
  7. #365Ericka705
Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. 1,600Rebeccah#2,600#1,000
  2. 1,221Ieshia#1,938#717
  3. 1,135Miriah#2,081#946
  4. 861Alexus#1,813#952
  5. 676Chynna#1,512#836
Fallers
  1. 568Infant#432#1,000
  2. 510Lakeshia#897#1,407
  3. 466Latifah#701#1,167
  4. 432Martika#757#1,189
  5. 416Cecily#575#991

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

boys

2,020,328 boys got a published name in 1991; 1 in 118,843 of them was named Joy, which outranked 64.1% of the 9,648 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Joy
  1. #3,325Zenas18
  2. #3,325Zephaniah18
  3. #3,325Zion18
  4. #3,462Joy17
  5. #3,462Abbas17
  6. #3,462Abimael17
  7. #3,462Adrion17
  8. #3,636Abisai16
  9. #3,636Aeron16
  10. #3,636Akram16

Tied with 173 names at #3,462; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. 4,462Devante#5,382#920
  2. 1,656Unnamed#2,628#972
  3. 1,496Jaleel#2,373#877
  4. 811Gunnar#1,516#705
  5. 672Dijon#1,587#915
Fallers
  1. 1,000Arsenio#744#1,744
  2. 773Brittany#995#1,768
  3. 281Infant#389#670
  4. 281Jarret#881#1,162
  5. 273Elton#963#1,236

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

See the top 100 for 1991