Joelene
Combination of feminine name Joel and suffix -ene, meaning "young or little Joel".
Name Census estimates that about 942 living Americans carry the first name Joelene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Joelene today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joelene births was 1975 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joelene. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
942
~ 1 in 363,858 Americans
Peak year
1975
37 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,647
Tracked since 1927
Census
Joelene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 893 people with the first name Joelene, which placed it at #13,490 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,490
National first-name rank
People counted
893
893 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joelene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joelene is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joelene described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Joelene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 634
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 106
- Black or African American6.3% · 56
- Two or more races5.5% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 21
Popularity
Joelene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joelene from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 218 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joelene by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Joelene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joelenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Joelene, while New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joelene
The name Joelene is an uncommon variant of the more familiar name Jolene, which has its origins in the English language. It is believed to have been derived from the French word "jolie," meaning "pretty" or "beautiful." The name's popularity can be traced back to the 1970s, when the country music singer Dolly Parton released her hit song "Jolene."
While there are no definitive records of the name Joelene being used in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that it emerged as a creative spelling variation of Jolene in more recent times. The earliest known use of the name Joelene dates back to the late 20th century, likely inspired by the popularity of the name Jolene after Parton's song became a cultural phenomenon.
One notable individual who bore the name Joelene was Joelene Crnogorac, a Canadian actress and model born in 1976. She has appeared in several television shows and films, including roles in "Smallville" and "The X-Files." Another Joelene of note was Joelene Bowers, an American author and motivational speaker known for her work on self-improvement and personal growth.
In the world of sports, Joelene Nedd was a Trinidadian track and field athlete who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. She specialized in the 400-meter hurdles and won multiple medals at international competitions. Additionally, Joelene Woodard was a professional basketball player from the United States who played in the WNBA for teams like the Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks in the early 2000s.
Another interesting figure named Joelene was Joelene Gunn, an Australian artist and sculptor known for her intricate and thought-provoking works. Her sculptures have been exhibited in galleries across Australia and internationally, earning her recognition within the contemporary art world.
While the name Joelene may not have a long and storied history compared to more traditional names, its unique spelling and connection to the iconic Dolly Parton song have contributed to its enduring presence as a uncommon but memorable given name.
People
Joelene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joelene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joelene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joelene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 942 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joelene going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 363,858 US residents.
Is Joelene a common name?
We classify Joelene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,174 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joelene most popular?
The single biggest year for Joelene was 1975, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joelene is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joelene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 893 people with the name Joelene, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,490 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Joelene in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joelene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joelene appears almost entirely female. Of the 894 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joelene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joelene is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Black (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Joelene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Joelene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (634 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Joelene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joelene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Joelene in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Joelene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joelene in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Joelene can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Joelene?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.