The story in the numbers

277,996 boys have been named Joel in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1985, with 4,623 births — 0.25% of all boys recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 154 → 219).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1981, and the 1980s alone account for 16%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 26 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 2,588 girls have also been given it, 0.92% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

By decade

Decade

boys named Joel

497

393

428

2,178

3,819

8,688

17,424

27,860

33,831

37,231

43,566

33,800

33,676

25,812

8,793

In 1985, its biggest year

Joel was the 67th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1985 were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua and Daniel. See all of 1985.

Names that rose and fell with Joel

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.