Joli
Feminine · “Pretty”
The French word for pretty may come from the Norse word for Christmas. Old French jolif meant merry or festive before it meant attractive, and the standard proposal derives it from jol, the midwinter feast the Vikings kept, which English has as yule.
How old is the name Joli?
Joli first appears in US birth records in 1950 — 75 years ago. The typical Joli alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 1,100 people named Joli are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Joli most popular?
Joli peaked in 1969, reaching #2058 nationally. See the whole 1969 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From jol to Joli
The story of Joli
The route runs through a feast. Norse jol was the midwinter festival, kept with drinking and feasting for twelve days; the word survives in English as yule and in Scandinavian languages as the ordinary word for Christmas. Norman French, spoken by people descended from Norse settlers, is thought to have taken it and made an adjective meaning festive, which then softened through merry and pleasant to attractive; English borrowed the same adjective earlier and kept the merry sense, producing jolly. So the French word on a perfume bottle and the English word in a Christmas carol are the same word, and both may go back to a Viking drinking festival.
Meaningscholars disagree
Pretty, merry
The French adjective is secure; its own origin is not. The Norse derivation is the usual one and has been doubted. The English word jolly comes from the same French word by a different route, which is why jolly and pretty are relatives and do not look it. This spelling drops the e that marks the French adjective as feminine.
How the name formed
- jol
- jolif
- jolie
- Joli
Related forms: Jolie
Pronouncing Joli
zhoh-LEE
Two syllables with the stress at the back in French, and the j made as in measure. English speakers usually say JOH-lee with an English j and the weight at the front, and both are current in the United States.
Nicknames for Joli
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1950
- Most girls named
- 197130 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2058reached in 1969
- Change vs 2021
- +33.3%8 in 2023, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Joli in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jolie in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Jolis among us
people named Joli are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Joli sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, soft and easy to say in either the French or the English reading.
- The meaning is immediately pleasant and needs no explaining.
- Four letters with nothing silent once the ending is understood.
- Two live pronunciations, one French and one English, and the spelling settles neither.
- Jolie is the French spelling and will be written by anybody who knows the language.
- The name is an adjective in a living language, which French speakers will notice.
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Joli
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jolis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Joli are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Joli in 2025?
- Joli is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Joli with classmates?
- Joli will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Joli? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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