Boys' name · peaked in 1907
Joe name popularity since 1925
368,676 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Joe (2.5% girls, 97.5% boys). Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Joe is about 76 years old in 2026. Joe peaked in 1907 as the #23 name for boys, and it ranked #994 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 368,676
- Named Joe, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1907
- #23 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #994
- for boys in 2025 (230 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 97.5% boys
- 9,128 girls · 359,548 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 4.25× its national share
Peak year is the year Joe made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Joe births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1936. Measured as a share of all babies, Joe peaked earlier, in 1907.
- Steepest fall: Between 1963 and 1968, Joe's share of baby boys fell by 35%, from 1 in 318 to 1 in 493.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Joe's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Joe.
Decade by decade
Babies named Joe in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 1,031 | 32,265 | – |
| 1930s | 2,417 | 71,470 | #25 |
| 1940s | 2,171 | 72,015 | #36 |
| 1950s | 1,844 | 62,620 | #68 |
| 1960s | 905 | 53,386 | #71 |
| 1970s | 454 | 24,949 | #116 |
| 1980s | 219 | 16,508 | #170 |
| 1990s | 76 | 11,907 | #260 |
| 2000s | 11 | 8,212 | #370 |
| 2010s | 0 | 4,549 | #597 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,667 | #994 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.7% of babies named Joe from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Joe is most popular
The index compares Joe's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Joe.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 4.25× | 8,650 |
| Mississippi | 3.29× | 14,676 |
| Arkansas | 2.85× | 10,771 |
| Texas | 2.76× | 79,802 |
| Oklahoma | 2.44× | 11,720 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Joe's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Joe.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Joe (1907).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data