Yoel
Masculine · “the Lord is God”
Yoel is the Hebrew of Joel — a name that is two divine names joined, Yah and El, which makes it a statement about the identity of God.
How old is the name Yoel?
Yoel first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Yoel alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 4,100 people named Yoel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Yoel most popular?
Yoel peaked in 1980, reaching #777 nationally. Today it ranks #1634, 857 places below that high. See the whole 1980 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yo'el to Yoel
The story of Yoel
Joel is one of the twelve minor prophets, and his book supplies the passage about the pouring out of the spirit that Peter quotes at Pentecost. Yoel is the standard Hebrew and Israeli form, and Spanish-speaking Protestant families also use it. It appears in American records rising and is in current use.
Meaning
the Lord is God
From the Hebrew Yo'el — Yo, a shortened form of the divine name, and El, 'God'. The name asserts that the two are one, which is why it belongs to a prophet. Both elements are divine names rather than ordinary words, which is unusual. The reading is undisputed.
How the name formed
- Yo'el
- Joel
- Yoel
Related forms: יואל · Joel · Yoel
Pronouncing Yoel
yoh-EL
Two syllables, stress on the second. English Joel is JOH-ul with the stress at the front.
Nicknames for Yoel
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
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 2019180 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #777reached in 1980
- Change vs 2024
- −14.2%103 in 2025, from 120
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.
Yoel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- יואל in Hebrew — transliteration
- Joel in English — related form
- Yoel in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Texas.
Yoels among us
people named Yoel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 16,583 born in 2025 was named Yoel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Derrell test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Yoel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Derrell climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Derrell's path sketches the road Yoel is walking now.
Yoel 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 Yoel is headed
Yoel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Yoel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Yoel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The name is built from two divine names, which is genuinely rare.
- A prophetic book and a famous Pentecost quotation stand behind it.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- Joel is the form English speakers will assume and it is said differently.
- The stress placement will need explaining.
- It reads as specifically Hebrew rather than generally biblical.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Yoel
Masculine · #1634 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Yoels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,100 people named Yoel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Yoel in 2025?
- Yoel ranks #1634 among US boy names in 2025, with 103 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Yoel?
- About 1 in every 16,583 US boys born in 2025 was named Yoel — 103 in all.
- Will my child share the name Yoel with classmates?
- Yoel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Yoel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guy#1634 · Jyaire#1634 · Armaan#1634 · Granger#1634 · Hansel#1634 · Lester#1634 · Hiram#1634 · Linkin#1634
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Yoel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Yoel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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