Joy

What Joy means

From the word “joy”

From the noun joy, first used by Puritans in the 17th century.

Source: Wiktionary, “Joy” (revision 93671839), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Joy?

US: Steady: #430 in 2015, #419 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #666 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1974, when 2,757 girls got the name (#109 that year). First in the US records in 1885.

How common

• About 1 in 2,152 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,470 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,627 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ME (1.93 per 1,000 girls), NV (1.09 per 1,000 girls), OK (0.95 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Joy is #419 in the US and #542 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 96.5% of US babies named Joy were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Joey146 US · 7 E&W
• Joi48 US
• Jo36 US
• Jai19 US
• Jae18 US
• Jay9 US
• Joa5 US
• Joah5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Joy

Girls

• Mavis#560Editor’s note Up from #1,003 in 2015 to #560 in 2025 in the US
• Rose#114Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1917, with 9,783 babies; 2,386 in 2025
• Ivory#378Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #378 vs #2,440 in 2025
• Edith#499“wealth, riches + battle”^*
• Rosemary#251“dew of the sea”^*
• Opal#423Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,110 in 2015, #423 in 2025

For a brother

• Duke#695Editor’s note Down from #601 in 2015 to #695 in 2025 in the US
• Royal#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #2,014 in 2025
• Prince#447Editor’s note Down from #386 in 2015 to #447 in 2025 in the US
• August#81“month of August”^*
• Briar#686Editor’s note Used for both: 34% of US babies named Briar in 2025 were boys
• Sage#455“sedge”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Joy’s. Rank is US 2025.