Joe
Joe was the 994th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 230 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 20th; the most babies were born in 1936 (8,023). Over the last ten years it has moved down 397 places. More babies were named Joe in the 1940s than in any other decade.
Meaning short form of Joseph · English, Hebrew
Say it JOH /dʒoʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #994 boys, down 266 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 230boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19368,023 babies
- Total since 1880
- 464,574babies recorded
What does the name Joe mean?
Joe is a short form of Joseph, and less often of Josiah or Joel, as Wiktionary notes. Joseph is Hebrew Yosef, which Genesis 30:24 explains with Rachel's words 'May the LORD add another son for me', from yasaf 'to add'; DMNES glosses it 'God will increase'. 'Average Joe' and 'G.I. Joe' show how common it became in American English.
יוֹסֵף (Yosef) (Biblical Hebrew, “he will add”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Joseph, Joey, Jo, Jose.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Joe', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Joseph', DMNES (Durham University)
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 30:24 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
Nicknames for Joe
The usual nicknames for Joe are Joey. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Joe in the last five years, 99 were named Joey, against 54 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joey · also for Joseph | Traditional | #877 | 1,315 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Joes go by each one.
Joe popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 11,319 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #994 | 230 |
| 2020 | #728 | 337 |
| 2010 | #453 | 592 |
| 2000 | #315 | 920 |
| 1990 | #210 | 1,460 |
| 1980 | #140 | 1,990 |
| 1970 | #90 | 3,570 |
| 1960 | #57 | 7,314 |
| 1950 | #54 | 6,033 |
| 1940 | #28 | 7,216 |
| 1930 | #27 | 6,873 |
| 1920 | #35 | 6,071 |
| 1910 | #25 | 1,553 |
| 1900 | #22 | 1,179 |
| 1890 | #28 | 682 |
| 1880 | #20 | 731 |
How popular is Joe, counting every spelling?
Joe has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #951 for boys in 2025, against #994 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Joe?
230 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Joe (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Joe born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 36 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Joe.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Joe?
About 187,700 people born in the US named Joe are alive today, with a median age of 64; half are between 50 and 74. That makes Joe a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Joe by state
How common Joe was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Texas (2.7×), Oklahoma (1.8×). In 26 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Joe: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Joe, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Joe · Sibling names for Joe
Joe is also a nickname for Joseph.
Questions about the name Joe
What does Joe mean?
Joe means “short form of Joseph” (English, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Joe?
Joe was the 994th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 230 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 20th; the most babies were born in 1936 (8,023). Over the last ten years it has moved down 397 places. More babies were named Joe in the 1940s than in any other decade.
Is Joe a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Joe in the US.
Where is Joe most popular?
In 2021–2025, Joe was most common in Texas (0.42 per 1,000 boys), followed by Oklahoma and Alabama.