Girls' name · peaked in 1941
Joyce name popularity since 1925
492,927 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Joyce. Half of them were born in 1946 or earlier, so the typical Joyce is about 80 years old in 2026. Joyce peaked in 1941 as the #13 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 492,927
- Named Joyce, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,074 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% girls
- 490,554 girls · 2,373 boys
- Most popular in
- Vermont
- 1.79× its national share
Peak year is the year Joyce made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Joyce births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1942. Measured as a share of all babies, Joyce peaked in 1941.
- Fastest rise: Between 1925 and 1930, Joyce became 2.4× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, its share of baby girls fell by 50%, from 1 in 428 to 1 in 861.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Joyce's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Joyce.
Decade by decade
Babies named Joyce in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 32,592 | 318 | – |
| 1930s | 115,506 | 757 | #12 |
| 1940s | 151,494 | 594 | #18 |
| 1950s | 114,984 | 305 | #29 |
| 1960s | 46,125 | 178 | #90 |
| 1970s | 11,992 | 50 | #219 |
| 1980s | 5,908 | 53 | #416 |
| 1990s | 3,910 | 23 | #605 |
| 2000s | 3,376 | 16 | #799 |
| 2010s | 3,159 | 44 | #844 |
| 2020–25 | 1,508 | 35 | #1,074 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.7% of babies named Joyce from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Joyce is most popular
The index compares Joyce'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 Joyce.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 1.79× | 1,479 |
| West Virginia | 1.79× | 7,781 |
| Kentucky | 1.74× | 14,411 |
| Arkansas | 1.65× | 8,357 |
| South Dakota | 1.62× | 2,558 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Joyce's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Joyce.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Joyce (1941).
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