How Many People Are Named Joe?
An estimated 217,107 people in the United States have the first name Joe. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #250 overall. It is predominantly male (97.6%). The average bearer is 63 years old, and Joe peaked in popularity in 1936 with 8,266 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joe as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Joe paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joe is overwhelmingly male, 11,318 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Joe has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
217,107
About 1 in 1,579 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
97.6% confidence
Average Age
63
years old
Peak Year
1936
8,266 births
Total Registered
464,326
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joe
Joe is predominantly male (97.6%), though 11,318 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Joe as a male name
Ranked #883 in 2024
272 male births in 2024
Peak: 1936 (8,023 births)
Joe as a female name
Ranked #18,900 in 2007
5 female births in 2007
Peak: 1934 (265 births)
Joe: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joe span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 74,184 babies were registered. Joe has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joe by Decade
How has Joe tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,235 | 7,098 | 137 | |
| 1890s | 7,682 | 7,482 | 200 | |
| 1900s | 10,759 | 10,466 | 293 | |
| 1910s | 39,097 | 38,250 | 847 | |
| 1920s | 64,421 | 62,676 | 1,745 | |
| 1930s | 73,885 | 71,468 | 2,417 | |
| 1940s | 74,184 | 72,013 | 2,171 | |
| 1950s | 64,464 | 62,620 | 1,844 | |
| 1960s | 54,289 | 53,385 | 904 | |
| 1970s | 25,401 | 24,947 | 454 | |
| 1980s | 16,727 | 16,508 | 219 | |
| 1990s | 11,983 | 11,907 | 76 | |
| 2000s | 8,214 | 8,203 | 11 | |
| 2010s | 4,548 | 4,548 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 1,437 | 1,437 | 0 | |
Joe by State
Birth registrations for Joe span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Tennessee. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island. On average, about 8,499 Joes were registered per state.
Joe + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joe
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joe: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joe?
We estimate approximately 217,107 people named Joe are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,579 Americans share this first name.
Is Joe a common name?
Joe is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 464,326 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joe most popular?
Joe reached peak popularity in 1936, when 8,266 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joe is approximately 63 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Joe a male name?
Joe is predominantly male. 97.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Joe Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joe Smith, Joe Johnson, Joe Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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