Joel

Boy Hebrew #11637 in 2023

Joel is a boy name of Hebrew origin.

Meaning of Joel

A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh. As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn).

Popularity of Joel

Popularity, 1880–2023

1,749 births in 2023

1880 2023

276,363 U.S. births recorded from 1880–2023. Used for both boys and girls — see notes below.

Peak year

1985

4,661 babies

First recorded

1880

Earliest SSA data

Recent trend

Falling

Last 5 yrs vs. prior 5

Similar names

James

Boy · Hebrew

Supplanter; one who follows

John

Boy · Hebrew

Very popular since the Middle Ages

Michael

Boy · Hebrew

Who is like God? A rhetorical name honoring the archangel

Mary

Girl · Hebrew

Bitter; beloved; wished-for child

Eleventh and favorite son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel

God is my oath; consecrated to God

About this page

Popularity counts come from the U.S. Social Security Administration's national dataset. Etymology adapted from Wiktionary under CC BY-SA 4.0. If you spot an error, please let us know.