boy's name
Joel
JOH-el
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 461,159
the United States
#219
2025 births
Joel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin that joins two names for God, and the prophet's book supplied the line quoted at Pentecost. It ranks 158th in Northern Ireland and 219th in the United States.
- Joel is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1985, when 4,661 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,023 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Joel over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 497 |
| 1890s | 393 |
| 1900s | 428 |
| 1910s | 2,220 |
| 1920s | 3,930 |
| 1930s | 8,895 |
| 1940s | 17,658 |
| 1950s | 28,097 |
| 1960s | 34,298 |
| 1970s | 37,644 |
| 1980s | 43,980 |
| 1990s | 34,056 |
| 2000s | 33,800 |
| 2010s | 25,889 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,465 |
What Joel means
Joel means Yahweh is God. The Hebrew joins Yo, a shortened form of the divine name, with El, the older Semitic word for God — so the name asserts that the two are one rather than describing anyone.
Where Joel comes from
Joel comes from the Hebrew Yo'el, combining Yo — from the tetragrammaton — with El, the general Semitic word for a god. Names built that way are statements of allegiance made at a time when the identification was contested, which is why Elijah, my God is Yahweh, has the same shape reversed. Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets; his short book describes a locust plague and includes the passage about God pouring out his spirit on all flesh, with sons and daughters prophesying, which Peter quotes in Acts to explain Pentecost. The name reached English use after the Reformation with the spread of Old Testament names among Protestants. Joel is also a Finnish and Swedish name, and Noel is unrelated — that is French, from the Latin for birth.
Joel in use
Joel ranks 158th in Northern Ireland with 14 births in 2024 and 219th in the United States with 1,639 births, its largest market. It is falling in our data from a peak in 1985, and our records carry it from 1880. It appears in every market we hold, including 1,098th in France — a genuinely seven-market biblical name.
How popular is Joel?
In 2025, Joel was given to 1,639 babies in the United States, ranking #219 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Joel is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Joel is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Joël | Joël is Joel written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #1,098. | 146,615 |
Names that peaked alongside Joel
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Joel also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Joel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Joel in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Joel
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Joel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Joel
What does the name Joel mean?
Joel means "Yahweh is God," joining a shortened form of the divine name with El.
Who was the prophet Joel?
One of the twelve minor prophets. His book supplies the passage Peter quotes at Pentecost about the spirit poured out on all flesh.
Is Joel related to Noel?
No. Noel is French, from the Latin for birth, and is a separate name.
How popular is Joel?
158th in Northern Ireland and 219th in the United States.
Is Joel a girl's or a boy's name?
Joel is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Joel?
Joel has 2 syllables.
Is Joel a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Joel currently ranks #158 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.