Joy
Masculine · “joy”
Joy is given to girls far more often — 140,694 girls against 2,630 boys since 1880. See Joy as a girl name
Joy is the English word, and the Latin behind it is gaudium — the same root that gives the carol title Gaudete and the word gaudy, by a long and unflattering route.
How old is the name Joy?
Joy first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Joy alive today was born around 1941, making them about 84 years old. About 1,200 people named Joy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Joy most popular?
Joy peaked in 1904, reaching #760 nationally. Today it ranks #3949, 3,189 places below that high. See the whole 1904 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From gaudium to Joy
The story of Joy
Gaudium was ordinary Latin for gladness, and Old French joie carried it into English in the thirteenth century. Medieval English used Joy as a personal name for both sexes, and the seventeenth-century Puritans took it up with the other virtue words. It appears in American records for men in real numbers around 1900 and has since become almost entirely a women's name.
Meaning
joy, gladness
From Old French joie, from Latin gaudia, the plural of gaudium, joy; the same root gives rejoice and, by way of decorated rosary beads called gauds, the word gaudy.
How the name formed
- gaudium
- joie
- joy
Related forms: Joie · Gozo · Gaudium
Pronouncing Joy
JOY
One syllable. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Joy
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
- 1883
- Most boys named
- 192266 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #760reached in 1904
- Change vs 2022
- +35.0%27 in 2025, from 20
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.
Joy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Joie in French — related form
- Gozo in Spanish — related form
- Gaudium in Latin — related form
Joys among us
people named Joy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 63,262 born in 2025 was named Joy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Joy sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Joy is headed
Joy looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 15% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Joy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Joy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An ordinary English word, so nobody has to be taught to say or spell it.
- Three letters and one syllable — as short as a name gets.
- Genuine turn-of-the-century American use for men.
- It is now almost entirely a women's name and he will correct assumptions.
- A virtue name sets an expectation the child did not choose.
- A three-letter name gives no room for a nickname.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Joy to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Joy? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Joy
Masculine · #3949 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Joys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Joy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Joy in 2025?
- Joy ranks #3949 among US boy names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Joy?
- About 1 in every 63,262 US boys born in 2025 was named Joy — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Joy with classmates?
- Joy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Joy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stewart#3949 · Tillman#3949 · Ashley#3949 · Alfonzo#3949 · Blane#3949 · Brayton#3949 · Omega#3949 · Rufus#3949
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Joy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Joy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle