How Many People Are Named Joel?
An estimated 240,202 people in the United States have the first name Joel. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #216 overall. It is predominantly male (99.1%). The average bearer is 41 years old, and Joel peaked in popularity in 1985 with 4,661 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joel 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 Joel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joel is overwhelmingly male, 2,588 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
240,202
About 1 in 1,427 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.1% confidence
Average Age
41
years old
Peak Year
1985
4,661 births
Total Registered
280,584
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joel
Joel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 280,584 total births registered, 99.1% were male.
Joel as a male name
Ranked #219 in 2024
1,633 male births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (4,623 births)
Joel as a female name
Ranked #12,690 in 2024
7 female births in 2024
Peak: 1966 (103 births)
Joel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 43,981 babies were registered. Joel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joel by Decade
How has Joel 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 | 497 | 497 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 393 | 393 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 428 | 428 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 2,220 | 2,178 | 42 | |
| 1920s | 3,930 | 3,819 | 111 | |
| 1930s | 8,895 | 8,688 | 207 | |
| 1940s | 17,657 | 17,424 | 233 | |
| 1950s | 28,098 | 27,860 | 238 | |
| 1960s | 34,296 | 33,831 | 465 | |
| 1970s | 37,647 | 37,231 | 416 | |
| 1980s | 43,981 | 43,566 | 415 | |
| 1990s | 34,052 | 33,800 | 252 | |
| 2000s | 33,795 | 33,676 | 119 | |
| 2010s | 25,880 | 25,812 | 68 | |
| 2020s | 8,815 | 8,793 | 22 | |
Joel by State
Birth registrations for Joel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Vermont, Wyoming, Delaware. On average, about 5,397 Joels were registered per state.
Joel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joel
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joel?
We estimate approximately 240,202 people named Joel 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 1,427 Americans share this first name.
Is Joel a common name?
Joel is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 280,584 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joel most popular?
Joel reached peak popularity in 1985, when 4,661 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joel is approximately 41 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Joel a male name?
Joel is predominantly male. 99.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Joel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joel Smith, Joel Johnson, Joel 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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