# Joy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/joy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒɔɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 143,324 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,630 / 140,694 (98% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,945, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From the noun joy, first used by Puritans in the 17th century.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 585 | 502 |
| 2012 | 622 | 495 |
| 2013 | 653 | 470 |
| 2014 | 699 | 457 |
| 2015 | 734 | 430 |
| 2016 | 954 | 352 |
| 2017 | 968 | 336 |
| 2018 | 902 | 353 |
| 2019 | 918 | 344 |
| 2020 | 788 | 396 |
| 2021 | 779 | 407 |
| 2022 | 688 | 462 |
| 2023 | 683 | 451 |
| 2024 | 707 | 440 |
| 2025 | 747 | 419 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10 | 7,778 |
| 2012 | 11 | 7,283 |
| 2013 | 14 | 6,066 |
| 2014 | 23 | 4,324 |
| 2015 | 12 | 6,877 |
| 2016 | 10 | 7,864 |
| 2017 | 17 | 5,403 |
| 2018 | 11 | 7,357 |
| 2019 | 14 | 6,248 |
| 2020 | 18 | 5,135 |
| 2021 | 13 | 6,496 |
| 2022 | 20 | 4,929 |
| 2023 | 15 | 6,069 |
| 2024 | 20 | 4,968 |
| 2025 | 27 | 3,993 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 62 | 645 |
| 2012 | 51 | 768 |
| 2013 | 61 | 659 |
| 2014 | 53 | 740 |
| 2015 | 61 | 666 |
| 2016 | 71 | 594 |
| 2017 | 70 | 604 |
| 2018 | 76 | 545 |
| 2019 | 75 | 537 |
| 2020 | 76 | 525 |
| 2021 | 82 | 506 |
| 2022 | 70 | 559 |
| 2023 | 76 | 516 |
| 2024 | 88 | 467 |
| 2025 | 73 | 542 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3 | 4,333 |
| 2008 | 5 | 3,158 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2,400 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 4 | 3,908 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,728 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,048 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,112 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## In other languages

- Greek: Χαρά
- Italian: Gioia

## People named Joy

- Joy Adamson, Austrian-British naturalist, painter, writer, collector and illustrator (1910–1980)
- Bethany Joy Lenz, American actress
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph, American actress
- Joy Behar, American comedian, television host, actress and writer
- Joy Harjo, American Poet Laureate
- Joy Fawcett, American soccer player
- Joy Lauren, American actress
- Joy Bryant, American actress and model
- Joy Buolamwini, American computer scientist and digital activist
- Joy Villa, American singer-songwriter, actress, and YouTuber
- Joy Beune, Dutch speed skater
- Joy Mangano, American inventor

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.