How common is the surname Joel?

1,426 people in the United States had the surname Joel in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 216,512 Americans. It ranked 19,087th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Joel?

In the 2010 Census, 61% of people named Joel identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

Who is the most famous person named Joel?

Billy Joel, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1949), followed by Alexa Ray Joel.

Where is the surname Joel most common?

Wikidata records people named Joel in the United States.

How do you pronounce Joel?

Joel is /ˈd͡ʒoʊ(ə)l/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Joel getting more or less common?

More common. 1,224 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,426 in 2010, up 17%.

Is Joel also a first name?

Yes. Joel is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Joel

A Hebrew surname, carried by 1,426 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒoʊ(ə)l/ 2 syllables Soundex J400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Joel is more common than 88.2% of them.

Origin

Hebrew origin

From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, “Yahweh (is) God”). As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Breton Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn). Cf. Elijah.

One of 51 Hebrew surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 1,426 people named Joel in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 216,512 Americans. That is up 17% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,224.

#19,087

rank among US surnames

1,426

people in 2010

0.5

per 100,000 Americans

+16.5%

change since 2000 (was #20,234)

Who is named Joel

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

61% of people named Joel identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Asian and Pacific Islander and 12% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 61%
Asian and Pacific Islander 15%
Black (not Hispanic) 12%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 9.5%
Two or more races 2.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Joels

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Billy Joel
American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1949)
Alexa Ray Joel
American singer, born 1985
Amos E. Joel, Jr.
American electrical engineer, 1918–2008
Robert Joel
American actor (1944-1992)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Joel

Joel has the Soundex code J400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code J400.

Other Hebrew surnames

All 51 Hebrew surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Joel come from?: From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, “Yahweh (is) God”). As a medieval French and English given name, it is also from Breton Judicaël (related to Joyce and Jocelyn). Cf. Elijah.
How common is the surname Joel?: 1,426 people in the United States had the surname Joel in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 216,512 Americans. It ranked 19,087th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Joel?: In the 2010 Census, 61% of people named Joel identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Asian and Pacific Islander.
Who is the most famous person named Joel?: Billy Joel, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1949), followed by Alexa Ray Joel.
Where is the surname Joel most common?: Wikidata records people named Joel in the United States.
How do you pronounce Joel?: Joel is /ˈd͡ʒoʊ(ə)l/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Joel getting more or less common?: More common. 1,224 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,426 in 2010, up 17%.
Is Joel also a first name?: Yes. Joel is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.