How Many People Are Named Joyce?
An estimated 234,481 people in the United States have the first name Joyce. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #224 overall. It is predominantly female (99.4%). The average bearer is 71 years old, and Joyce peaked in popularity in 1942 with 16,807 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Joyce 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 Joyce paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Joyce is overwhelmingly female, 2,893 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 71, Joyce is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1965.
- Joyce 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
234,481
About 1 in 1,462 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.4% confidence
Average Age
71
years old
Peak Year
1942
16,807 births
Total Registered
511,995
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Joyce
Joyce is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 511,995 total births registered, 99.4% were female.
Joyce as a male name
Ranked #7,457 in 2024
11 male births in 2024
Peak: 1932 (91 births)
Joyce as a female name
Ranked #1,042 in 2024
240 female births in 2024
Peak: 1942 (16,728 births)
Joyce: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Joyce span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 152,087 babies were registered. Joyce has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Joyce by Decade
How has Joyce 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 | 50 | 0 | 50 | |
| 1890s | 268 | 0 | 268 | |
| 1900s | 760 | 23 | 737 | |
| 1910s | 6,400 | 259 | 6,141 | |
| 1920s | 44,737 | 563 | 44,174 | |
| 1930s | 116,262 | 757 | 115,505 | |
| 1940s | 152,087 | 594 | 151,493 | |
| 1950s | 115,288 | 305 | 114,983 | |
| 1960s | 46,304 | 178 | 46,126 | |
| 1970s | 12,045 | 50 | 11,995 | |
| 1980s | 5,961 | 53 | 5,908 | |
| 1990s | 3,933 | 23 | 3,910 | |
| 2000s | 3,392 | 16 | 3,376 | |
| 2010s | 3,203 | 44 | 3,159 | |
| 2020s | 1,305 | 28 | 1,277 | |
Joyce by State
Birth registrations for Joyce span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 9,916 Joyces were registered per state.
Joyce + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Joyce as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Joyce
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Joyce: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joyce?
We estimate approximately 234,481 people named Joyce 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 1,462 Americans share this first name.
Is Joyce a common name?
Joyce is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 511,995 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Joyce most popular?
Joyce reached peak popularity in 1942, when 16,807 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Joyce is approximately 71 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Joyce a female name?
Joyce is predominantly female. 99.4% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Joyce Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Joyce Smith, Joyce Johnson, Joyce 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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