Unisex name ★ peaked 1962

Joey

Meaning A diminutive of the male given names Joe and Joseph Gender Unisex · 12% girls Rank 2025 #877 Trend → Stable

A diminutive of the male given names Joe and Joseph.

Rank 2025
#877
among boys · ↑13 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
420
named Joey · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 6,234
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1962
1,572 babies
All-time total
61,402
#485 all-time among boys
First recorded
1915
in Social Security records

Joey popularity over time

61,402 babies have been named Joey since 1915, 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 14 23 37 4 – #2,825
1920s 66 119 185 19 +400% #1,796
1930s 101 308 409 41 +121% #897
1940s 149 1,203 1,352 135 +231% #516
1950s 292 6,321 6,613 661 +389% #237
1960s 597 12,258 12,855 1,286 +94% #200
1970s 1,935 10,226 12,161 1,216 -5% #194
1980s 660 8,122 8,782 878 -28% #212
1990s 577 5,388 5,965 597 -32% #352
2000s 1,139 4,650 5,789 579 -3% #485
2010s 1,145 3,572 4,717 472 -19% #605
2020s (to 2025) 969 1,568 2,537 423 -10% #877

Where Joey 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 271 0.16 outside top 500
2027 269 0.16 outside top 500
2028 266 0.16 outside top 500
2029 265 0.15 outside top 500
2030 263 0.15 outside top 500

Where Joey is most popular

Boys named Joey per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.152 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Ohio, and Washington.

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 Joey 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
California 277 0.303 +99%
Ohio 56 0.211 +39%
Washington 34 0.208 +36%
Massachusetts 27 0.196 +29%
Texas 173 0.196 +29%
Arizona 31 0.189 +24%
Utah 18 0.189 +24%
Florida 89 0.188 +23%
Connecticut 11 0.162 +7%
New York 65 0.150 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 37 0.139 -8%
Colorado 13 0.101 -34%
Georgia 25 0.099 -35%
New Jersey 19 0.094 -38%
North Carolina 23 0.090 -41%
Oregon 5 0.066 -57%
Wisconsin 7 0.059 -61%
Illinois 15 0.059 -61%
Kentucky 5 0.050 -67%
Minnesota 6 0.049 -68%
Michigan 10 0.049 -68%
Missouri 6 0.043 -72%
Indiana 5 0.031 -80%
Virginia 5 0.026 -83%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
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 Joey

Joey is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #877 in 2025 with 274 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1915, 61,402 American babies have been named Joey, about 88% boys and 12% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1962, when 1,572 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

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 Joey stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Joey?

The median living Joey is about 46 years old; half are between 27 and 58. An estimated 55 thousand people named Joey are alive in the United States today.

median 46 020406080100

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

Joey 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 146 #1,474 274 #877
2024 164 #1,380 267 #890
2023 167 #1,351 258 #903
2022 161 #1,414 264 #892
2021 178 #1,288 252 #911
2020 153 #1,429 253 #895
2019 132 #1,609 306 #772
2018 151 #1,456 323 #739
2017 146 #1,519 301 #780
2016 154 #1,491 355 #696
2015 95 #2,067 318 #758
2014 119 #1,750 370 #684
2013 73 #2,469 382 #643
2012 83 #2,271 404 #609
2011 90 #2,133 408 #605
2010 102 #1,969 405 #612
2009 99 #2,067 408 #616
2008 111 #1,907 448 #576
2007 135 #1,649 470 #547
2006 127 #1,666 474 #532
2005 146 #1,457 482 #510
2004 121 #1,609 508 #489
2003 133 #1,470 496 #494
2002 92 #1,924 448 #509
2001 95 #1,854 435 #519
2000 80 #2,066 481 #485
1995 67 #2,036 507 #450
1990 44 #2,666 685 #352
1985 48 #2,190 763 #273
1980 126 #1,100 1,154 #212
1975 224 #673 840 #249
1970 198 #745 1,137 #217
1965 26 #2,371 1,120 #214
1960 23 #2,540 1,206 #229
1955 26 #2,137 693 #271
1950 27 #1,853 188 #491
1945 20 #1,907 120 #546
1940 5 #4,681 65 #768
1935 9 #3,037 35 #1,113
1930 5 #4,887 24 #1,515
1925 8 #3,853 11 #2,672
1920 – – 5 #4,632
1915 – – 6 #3,624
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Joey

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

  1. 1 Joey King Joey King American actress (born 1999) Contemporary
  2. 2 Joey Lawrence Joey Lawrence American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and game show host b. 1976 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Joey Barton Joey Barton English association football player and manager (born 1982) Contemporary
  4. 4 Joey Lauren Adams Joey Lauren Adams American actress (born 1968) Contemporary
  5. 5 Joey Badass Joey Badass American rapper and actor (born 1995) Contemporary
  6. 6 Joey McIntyre Joey McIntyre American singer and actor (born 1972) Contemporary
  7. 7 Joey Logano Joey Logano American racing driver (born 1990) Contemporary
  8. 8 Joey Bishop Joey Bishop American entertainer (1918–2007) Contemporary
  9. 9 Joey Votto Joey Votto Canadian baseball player (born 1983) Contemporary
  10. 10 Joey Jones Joey Jones Welsh footballer (1955–2025) Contemporary
  11. 11 Joey Santiago Joey Santiago Filipino-American guitarist (born 1965) Contemporary
  12. 12 Joey Mercury Joey Mercury American professional wrestler (born 1979) Contemporary
  13. 13 Joey Graceffa Joey Graceffa American YouTuber (born 1991) Contemporary
  14. 14 Joey O'Brien Joey O'Brien Irish footballer and manager (born 1986) Contemporary
  15. 15 Joey Dorsey Joey Dorsey American basketball player (born 1983) Contemporary
  16. 16 Joey Cheek Joey Cheek American speed skater b. 1979 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Joey Baron Joey Baron American avant-garde jazz drummer (born 1955) Contemporary
  18. 18 Joey Didulica Croatian-Australian footballer (born 1977) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Joey?

The median living Joey is about 46 years old. Half of all living Joeys are between 27 and 58 years old.

How many people named Joey are alive today?

An estimated 55 thousand people named Joey are alive in the United States, based on 61,402 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Joey mean?

A diminutive of the male given names Joe and Joseph.

How popular is the name Joey in 2025?

Joey ranked #877 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 274 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Joey?

61,402 babies have been named Joey in the United States since 1915, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Joey most popular?

Joey peaked in 1962, when 1,572 newborns received the name.

Is Joey a boy or girl name?

Joey is used for both: about 12% of babies named Joey have been girls and 88% boys.

Is the name Joey rising or falling?

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

Will Joey become more popular?

Joey looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 263 boys named Joey in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Joey?

Well-known people named Joey include Joey King (actor), Joey Lawrence (actor), Joey Barton (soccer player).

Names like Joey

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

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