boys' name ★ peaked 1936

Joe

Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #994 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

Short form (diminutive form) of various names beginning with Jo..., particularly the male names Joseph and, less often, Joel, Josiah and Josias.

Rank 2025
#994
among boys · ↓110 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
230
named Joe · -15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,426
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1936
8,266 babies
All-time total
464,574
#70 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Joe popularity over time

464,574 babies have been named Joe since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 137 7,098 7,235 724 – #20
1890s 200 7,482 7,682 768 +6% #23
1900s 293 10,466 10,759 1,076 +40% #22
1910s 847 38,250 39,097 3,910 +263% #25
1920s 1,745 62,676 64,421 6,442 +65% #30
1930s 2,417 71,470 73,887 7,389 +15% #23
1940s 2,171 72,015 74,186 7,419 0% #28
1950s 1,844 62,620 64,464 6,446 -13% #54
1960s 905 53,386 54,291 5,429 -16% #57
1970s 454 24,949 25,403 2,540 -53% #90
1980s 219 16,508 16,727 1,673 -34% #140
1990s 76 11,907 11,983 1,198 -28% #210
2000s 11 8,212 8,223 822 -31% #302
2010s – 4,549 4,549 455 -45% #453
2020s (to 2025) – 1,667 1,667 278 -39% #728

Where Joe is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 220 0.13 outside top 500
2027 212 0.12 outside top 500
2028 205 0.12 outside top 500
2029 199 0.12 outside top 500
2030 194 0.11 outside top 500

Where Joe is most popular

Boys named Joe per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.154 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Joe born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 369 0.419 +172%
Oklahoma 25 0.283 +84%
Alabama 21 0.192 +25%
Tennessee 34 0.188 +22%
California 171 0.187 +21%
New Jersey 37 0.184 +19%
Arizona 27 0.165 +7%
New York 67 0.155 ≈ national
Florida 72 0.152 ≈ national
Indiana 24 0.150 ≈ national
Georgia 34 0.134 -13%
Louisiana 11 0.108 -30%
North Carolina 26 0.102 -34%
Arkansas 6 0.095 -38%
Colorado 12 0.093 -40%
Mississippi 5 0.088 -43%
Ohio 21 0.079 -49%
Kansas 5 0.073 -53%
Washington 11 0.067 -56%
Pennsylvania 17 0.064 -58%
Illinois 15 0.059 -62%
Michigan 11 0.054 -65%
Wisconsin 6 0.051 -67%
Minnesota 6 0.049 -68%
Virginia 5 0.026 -83%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Joe

Joe is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #994 in 2025 with 230 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 464,574 American babies have been named Joe. Its peak came in 1936, when 8,266 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1930s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Joe stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Joe?

The median living Joe is about 64 years old; half are between 51 and 75. An estimated 209 thousand people named Joe are alive in the United States today.

median 64 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Joe year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 230 #994
2024 – – 272 #884
2023 – – 256 #909
2022 – – 262 #896
2021 – – 310 #794
2020 – – 337 #728
2019 – – 350 #707
2018 – – 347 #697
2017 – – 365 #685
2016 – – 434 #619
2015 – – 460 #597
2014 – – 490 #568
2013 – – 476 #555
2012 – – 499 #526
2011 – – 536 #490
2010 – – 592 #453
2009 – – 607 #453
2008 – – 725 #409
2007 5 #18,902 732 #402
2006 – – 816 #368
2005 – – 800 #370
2004 – – 826 #344
2003 – – 899 #327
2002 – – 922 #310
2001 6 #14,325 965 #302
2000 – – 920 #315
1995 10 #8,356 1,078 #260
1990 11 #7,537 1,460 #210
1985 24 #3,562 1,591 #170
1980 20 #3,901 1,990 #140
1975 39 #2,180 2,239 #116
1970 68 #1,482 3,570 #90
1965 77 #1,235 4,833 #71
1960 130 #935 7,314 #57
1955 183 #694 5,856 #68
1950 204 #591 6,033 #54
1945 194 #526 6,625 #36
1940 217 #454 7,216 #28
1935 224 #429 7,555 #25
1930 249 #418 6,873 #27
1925 158 #570 6,107 #34
1920 134 #618 6,071 #35
1915 114 #612 4,648 #38
1910 42 #658 1,553 #25
1905 28 #675 1,024 #23
1900 33 #617 1,179 #22
1895 27 #583 763 #28
1890 20 #589 682 #28
1885 12 #642 681 #25
1880 5 #879 731 #20

Famous people named Joe

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Joe Biden Joe Biden President of the United States from 2021 to 2025 b. 1942 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Joe Pesci Joe Pesci American actor (born 1943) Contemporary
  3. 3 Joe Walsh Joe Walsh American rock musician (born 1947) Contemporary
  4. 4 Joe Jackson Joe Jackson American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family (1928–2018) Contemporary
  5. 5 Joe Pantoliano Joe Pantoliano American actor (born 1951) Contemporary
  6. 6 Joe DiMaggio Joe DiMaggio American baseball player (1914–1999) Contemporary
  7. 7 Joe Cocker Joe Cocker English singer (1944–2014) Contemporary
  8. 8 Joe Mantegna Joe Mantegna American actor (born 1947) Contemporary
  9. 9 Joe Frazier Joe Frazier American boxer (1944–2011) Contemporary
  10. 10 Joe Louis Joe Louis American boxer (1914–1981) Contemporary
  11. 11 Joe Don Baker Joe Don Baker American actor (1936–2025) Contemporary
  12. 12 Joe Satriani Joe Satriani American guitarist (born 1956) Contemporary
  13. 13 Joe Dante Joe Dante American filmmaker (born 1946) Contemporary
  14. 14 Joe Hisaishi Joe Hisaishi Japanese composer (born 1950) Contemporary
  15. 15 Joe Spinell Joe Spinell American actor (1936–1989) Contemporary
  16. 16 Joe Johnston Joe Johnston American film director and visual effects artist (born 1950) Contemporary
  17. 17 Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner American singer (born 1951) Contemporary
  18. 18 Joe Dassin Joe Dassin American musician (1938–1980) Contemporary
  19. 19 Joe Weider Joe Weider Canadian bodybuilder and businessman (1919–2013) Contemporary
  20. 20 Joe Shuster Joe Shuster Comic book artist (1914–1992) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Joe, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Joe?

The median living Joe is about 64 years old. Half of all living Joes are between 51 and 75 years old.

How many people named Joe are alive today?

An estimated 209 thousand people named Joe are alive in the United States, based on 464,574 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Joe mean?

Short form (diminutive form) of various names beginning with Jo..., particularly the male names Joseph and, less often, Joel, Josiah and Josias.

How popular is the name Joe in 2025?

Joe ranked #994 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 230 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Joe?

464,574 babies have been named Joe in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Joe most popular?

Joe peaked in 1936, when 8,266 newborns received the name.

Is Joe a boy or girl name?

Joe is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Joe rising or falling?

Joe is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Joe become more popular?

Joe is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 194 boys named Joe in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Joe?

Well-known people named Joe include Joe Biden (politician), Joe Pesci (actor), Joe Walsh (musician).

Names like Joe

Names that sound and feel close to Joe: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Joe with similar names → More names starting with J →