Given name & surname
Joel
“jehovah is God; God is willing”
Joel is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “jehovah is God; God is willing.”
Original Hebrewיואל
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “jehovah is God; God is willing.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From Hebrew יוֹאֵל (yo'él, “Yahweh (is) God”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Joel appears in Joel 1:4, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:16 and 1 other passage.
- Joel 1:4
- Joel 2:28-32
- Acts 2:16
- 1 Samuel 8:2
From biblical name research
Joel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 282,250
- 279,655 boys · 2,595 girls
- Most popular year
- 1985
- 4,661 babies
- 2025
- 1,639
- #219 for boys · #13,970 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −20%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,633 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 219 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 20.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 4,623 in 1985. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (254 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 256,017 as a first name in 2020; 1,821 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Joel’s family of names
In English usage, Joel has a diminutive in Joe. Joel has a feminine form in Joelle. In English usage, Joel has a related form in Yoel.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Joel has relatives in 12 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
12 related names in 12 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 6
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Joel
- Joel SchumacherAmerican director, screenwriter, and producer (1939–2020)
- Joelbiblical prophet associated with the Book of Joel1 BC–700 BC
- Joel McHaleAmerican actor and comedianborn 1971
- Joel KinnamanSwedish-American actorborn 1979
- Joel CampbellCosta Rican footballerborn 1992
- Deadmau5Canadian electronic dance music producer (born 1981)
- Joel GreyAmerican actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer (born 1932)
- Joel GriffithsAustralian association football playerborn 1979
- Joel MokyrAmerican-Israeli economic historianborn 1946
Characters named Joel: Joel (the video game series The Last of Us).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Joel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jordan
“flowing down”
85% boys · 15% girls
Jesse
“gift” · “God exists; a gift from God; God sees all”
97% boys · 3% girls
Jonathan
“God has given” · “a gift of God”
>99% boys
Daniel
“God is my judge”
>99% boys
Joshua
“God . is salvation” · “God is salvation”
>99% boys
Jason
“I heal”
>99% boys
Jeremy
“one who is exalted by the Lord” · “appointed by God”
>99% boys
Adam
“man” · “of the earth”
>99% boys