Meaning not yet researched.
Joy: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 747 in 2025. Its best rank was #109 in 1974.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #109 in 1974; #419 in 2025. About 97% of babies named Joy in 2025 were girls.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#419 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1974, at #109.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Joy: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 747 girls in 2025. Peak: #109 in 1974 · most girls in one year: 2,929 (1957).
In 2025, 747 US girls were named Joy, making it the 419th most common girls’ name of the year, up 21 places from #440 in 2024. That is 40 more than the 707 girls named Joy in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #109, reached in 1974. The most girls given the name in a single year was 2,929, in 1957. For comparison, it was #430 in 2015 and #159 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Joy in 142 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1883 with 5 babies. In all, 143,324 US babies have been given the name, 98% of them girls and 1.8% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 24,701 babies named Joy.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 8,134 US girls were named Joy; the busiest of those years was 2017, with 968. In 2025 that was about 1 in 2,152 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Joy ranked highest in Maine in 2025, at #191 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Joyce (512,232 babies since 1880), Jo (180,911 babies since 1880), Joey (61,402 babies since 1880) and Joi (6,095 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Joyia, Joiya and Joyah are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Joyia (102), Joiya (37), Joyah (29).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Joy in the open dataset we use.
Joy is listed as a nickname for Joyce.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 17 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 6 | #191 | — |
| Nevada | 10 | #274 | #307 |
| Maryland | 18 | #289 | #232 |
| Massachusetts | 20 | #295 | #496 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | #302 | — |
| New Jersey | 27 | #309 | #443 |
| Florida | 59 | #315 | #364 |
| Alabama | 14 | #355 | #469 |
| California | 91 | #361 | #366 |
| Texas | 93 | #368 | #426 |
| Louisiana | 12 | #379 | #510 |
| Tennessee | 21 | #383 | #496 |
| Georgia | 28 | #411 | #395 |
| New York | 42 | #416 | #435 |
| Virginia | 19 | #421 | #567 |
| Michigan | 19 | #448 | #606 |
| Arkansas | 7 | #455 | #414 |
| Ohio | 25 | #455 | #527 |
| Kentucky | 9 | #467 | — |
| Pennsylvania | 22 | #475 | #473 |
| Illinois | 22 | #478 | #451 |
| Missouri | 12 | #496 | #452 |
| Arizona | 14 | #498 | #515 |
| Colorado | 11 | #516 | #591 |
| Minnesota | 10 | #523 | #573 |
| North Carolina | 21 | #523 | #391 |
| Washington | 13 | #528 | #308 |
| Iowa | 6 | #531 | #561 |
| Wisconsin | 9 | #544 | #338 |
| Utah | 7 | #567 | #777 |
| Mississippi | 5 | #575 | #397 |
| Connecticut | 5 | #576 | #349 |
| Indiana | 11 | #593 | #522 |
| South Carolina | 7 | #641 | #405 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 747 | #419 | 27 | #3,993 |
| 2024 | 707 | #440 | 20 | #4,968 |
| 2023 | 683 | #451 | 15 | #6,069 |
| 2022 | 688 | #462 | 20 | #4,929 |
| 2021 | 779 | #407 | 13 | #6,496 |
| 2020 | 788 | #396 | 18 | #5,135 |
| 2019 | 918 | #344 | 14 | #6,248 |
| 2018 | 902 | #353 | 11 | #7,357 |
| 2017 | 968 | #336 | 17 | #5,403 |
| 2016 | 954 | #352 | 10 | #7,864 |
| 2015 | 734 | #430 | 12 | #6,877 |
| 2014 | 699 | #457 | 23 | #4,324 |
| 2013 | 653 | #470 | 14 | #6,066 |
| 2012 | 622 | #495 | 11 | #7,283 |
| 2011 | 585 | #502 | 10 | #7,778 |
| 2010 | 632 | #478 | 17 | #5,362 |
| 2009 | 587 | #517 | 10 | #7,992 |
| 2008 | 575 | #536 | 8 | #9,412 |
| 2007 | 604 | #520 | 11 | #7,338 |
| 2006 | 608 | #502 | 9 | #8,370 |
| 2005 | 584 | #510 | 9 | #7,974 |
| 2004 | 615 | #480 | 6 | #10,632 |
| 2003 | 583 | #494 | 12 | #6,052 |
| 2002 | 590 | #477 | 10 | #6,789 |
| 2001 | 580 | #480 | 7 | #8,736 |
| 2000 | 607 | #457 | 11 | #6,115 |
| 1999 | 596 | #448 | 9 | #6,804 |
| 1998 | 583 | #442 | 5 | #10,438 |
| 1997 | 580 | #438 | 13 | #4,801 |
| 1996 | 587 | #434 | 13 | #4,741 |
| 1995 | 593 | #434 | 6 | #8,313 |
| 1994 | 589 | #428 | 11 | #5,272 |
| 1993 | 632 | #399 | 14 | #4,349 |
| 1992 | 616 | #410 | 8 | #6,388 |
| 1991 | 710 | #362 | 17 | #3,540 |
| 1990 | 697 | #375 | 17 | #3,527 |
| 1989 | 802 | #316 | 16 | #3,531 |
| 1988 | 837 | #296 | 19 | #2,905 |
| 1987 | 862 | #286 | 12 | #3,851 |
| 1986 | 1,036 | #249 | 11 | #4,001 |
| 1985 | 1,123 | #230 | 13 | #3,509 |
| 1984 | 1,155 | #224 | 11 | #3,813 |
| 1983 | 1,191 | #211 | 13 | #3,321 |
| 1982 | 1,335 | #203 | 16 | #2,907 |
| 1981 | 1,622 | #170 | 13 | #3,317 |
| 1980 | 1,717 | #165 | 9 | #4,313 |
| 1979 | 1,821 | #154 | 23 | #2,197 |
| 1978 | 1,946 | #139 | 13 | #3,144 |
| 1977 | 2,100 | #136 | 18 | #2,512 |
| 1976 | 2,076 | #132 | 15 | #2,760 |
| 1975 | 2,306 | #123 | 10 | #3,541 |
| 1974 | 2,757 | #109 | 24 | #1,911 |
| 1973 | 1,697 | #162 | 15 | #2,557 |
| 1972 | 1,817 | #160 | 11 | #3,059 |
| 1971 | 1,826 | #169 | 11 | #3,060 |
| 1970 | 1,773 | #184 | 16 | #2,350 |
| 1969 | 1,691 | #187 | 19 | #1,942 |
| 1968 | 1,904 | #170 | 14 | #2,252 |
| 1967 | 1,885 | #169 | 14 | #2,202 |
| 1966 | 2,090 | #165 | 18 | #1,852 |
| 1965 | 1,975 | #177 | 7 | #3,400 |
| 1964 | 2,219 | #175 | 19 | #1,871 |
| 1963 | 2,181 | #178 | 16 | #2,078 |
| 1962 | 2,426 | #169 | 16 | #2,079 |
| 1961 | 2,609 | #158 | 23 | #1,716 |
| 1960 | 2,776 | #152 | 20 | #1,841 |
| 1959 | 2,880 | #146 | 17 | #2,009 |
| 1958 | 2,764 | #147 | 26 | #1,544 |
| 1957 | 2,929 | #143 | 16 | #2,055 |
| 1956 | 2,819 | #140 | 15 | #2,133 |
| 1955 | 2,389 | #152 | 17 | #1,934 |
| 1954 | 2,367 | #151 | 20 | #1,732 |
| 1953 | 2,307 | #151 | 9 | #2,812 |
| 1952 | 2,276 | #149 | 28 | #1,445 |
| 1951 | 2,012 | #155 | 15 | #2,011 |
| 1950 | 1,775 | #159 | 20 | #1,681 |
| 1949 | 1,642 | #171 | 19 | #1,731 |
| 1948 | 1,627 | #171 | 17 | #1,852 |
| 1947 | 1,815 | #166 | 16 | #1,955 |
| 1946 | 1,573 | #170 | 19 | #1,672 |
| 1945 | 1,389 | #168 | 16 | #1,734 |
| 1944 | 1,456 | #163 | 27 | #1,298 |
| 1943 | 1,610 | #157 | 28 | #1,329 |
| 1942 | 1,592 | #154 | 37 | #1,128 |
| 1941 | 1,550 | #150 | 25 | #1,352 |
| 1940 | 1,310 | #160 | 29 | #1,267 |
| 1939 | 1,259 | #166 | 27 | #1,289 |
| 1938 | 1,372 | #159 | 25 | #1,353 |
| 1937 | 1,236 | #162 | 45 | #937 |
| 1936 | 1,483 | #144 | 47 | #901 |
| 1935 | 1,349 | #148 | 42 | #985 |
| 1934 | 1,342 | #152 | 41 | #1,016 |
| 1933 | 1,291 | #147 | 39 | #1,041 |
| 1932 | 1,361 | #147 | 39 | #1,081 |
| 1931 | 1,224 | #152 | 52 | #895 |
| 1930 | 1,268 | #163 | 52 | #934 |
| 1929 | 1,138 | #177 | 44 | #1,034 |
| 1928 | 1,091 | #188 | 47 | #1,014 |
| 1927 | 1,127 | #183 | 63 | #855 |
| 1926 | 892 | #210 | 49 | #988 |
| 1925 | 772 | #236 | 61 | #853 |
| 1924 | 578 | #274 | 44 | #1,081 |
| 1923 | 540 | #277 | 40 | #1,132 |
| 1922 | 447 | #309 | 66 | #847 |
| 1921 | 392 | #333 | 47 | #1,023 |
| 1920 | 376 | #337 | 48 | #996 |
| 1919 | 322 | #358 | 58 | #870 |
| 1918 | 303 | #377 | 37 | #1,142 |
| 1917 | 256 | #394 | 41 | #1,025 |
| 1916 | 214 | #429 | 42 | #992 |
| 1915 | 190 | #445 | 35 | #1,096 |
| 1914 | 158 | #429 | 24 | #1,208 |
| 1913 | 120 | #454 | 22 | #1,090 |
| 1912 | 68 | #594 | 10 | #1,684 |
| 1911 | 63 | #523 | 6 | #1,641 |
| 1910 | 48 | #605 | 11 | #1,010 |
| 1909 | 54 | #511 | 6 | #1,375 |
| 1908 | 38 | #623 | — | — |
| 1907 | 38 | #607 | 7 | #1,148 |
| 1906 | 40 | #559 | 7 | #1,063 |
| 1905 | 38 | #567 | 6 | #1,169 |
| 1904 | 36 | #567 | 10 | #785 |
| 1903 | 30 | #600 | 9 | #819 |
| 1902 | 38 | #522 | 9 | #827 |
| 1901 | 25 | #639 | — | — |
| 1900 | 27 | #695 | 10 | #874 |
| 1899 | 23 | #652 | 5 | #1,133 |
| 1898 | 20 | #762 | 5 | #1,222 |
| 1897 | 30 | #545 | 6 | #1,014 |
| 1896 | 18 | #775 | 6 | #1,050 |
| 1895 | 24 | #632 | — | — |
| 1894 | 21 | #652 | — | — |
| 1893 | 10 | #993 | — | — |
| 1892 | 16 | #747 | 6 | #1,022 |
| 1891 | 14 | #738 | — | — |
| 1890 | 10 | #904 | — | — |
| 1889 | 20 | #584 | — | — |
| 1888 | 10 | #867 | — | — |
| 1887 | 7 | #989 | — | — |
| 1886 | 6 | #1,035 | — | — |
| 1885 | 9 | #774 | — | — |
| 1883 | — | — | 5 | #972 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).