Mostly boys · peaked in 1976
Joey name popularity since 1925
61,287 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Joey (12.4% girls, 87.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1977 or earlier, so the typical Joey is about 49 years old in 2026. Joey peaked in 1976 as the #194 name for boys, and it ranked #877 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 61,287
- Named Joey, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #877
- for boys in 2025 (274 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 87.6% boys
- 7,596 girls · 53,691 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 2.17× its national share
Peak year is the year Joey 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.
Joey births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1962. Measured as a share of all babies, Joey peaked in 1976.
- Fastest rise: Between 1951 and 1956, Joey became 4.3× more common, from 1 in 9,610 baby boys to 1 in 2,240.
- Steepest fall: Between 1981 and 1986, its share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 1,670 to 1 in 2,810.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Joey's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Joey.
Decade by decade
Babies named Joey 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 | 32 | 75 | – |
| 1930s | 101 | 308 | #1,113 |
| 1940s | 149 | 1,203 | #546 |
| 1950s | 292 | 6,321 | #271 |
| 1960s | 597 | 12,258 | #214 |
| 1970s | 1,935 | 10,226 | #249 |
| 1980s | 660 | 8,122 | #273 |
| 1990s | 577 | 5,388 | #450 |
| 2000s | 1,139 | 4,650 | #510 |
| 2010s | 1,145 | 3,572 | #758 |
| 2020–25 | 969 | 1,568 | #877 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
31.7% of babies named Joey from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Joey is most popular
The index compares Joey'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 Joey.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2.17× | 650 |
| Louisiana | 2.04× | 1,987 |
| Hawaii | 1.95× | 330 |
| South Carolina | 1.83× | 1,392 |
| Kentucky | 1.81× | 1,642 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Joey's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Joey.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Joey (1976).
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