Joye
French feminine name meaning "joy" or "delight".
Name Census estimates that about 1,763 living Americans carry the first name Joye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Joye today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joye births was 1932 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joye. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 194,415 Americans
Peak year
1932
77 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1924 SSA rank
#3,380
Tracked since 1907
Gender
Gender distribution for Joye
Out of the 3,475 babies given the name Joye since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Joye as a male name
- Ranked #3,380 in 1924
- 8 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1924 (8 births)
Joye as a female name
- Ranked #11,591 in 2021
- 8 female births in 2021
- Peak: 1932 (77 births)
Popularity
Joye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joye from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 628 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joye 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 Joye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joyes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Joye, while Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joye
The name Joye originated in the Middle Ages, likely derived from the Old French word "joie," meaning joy or delight. It first appeared in the 13th century as a masculine name, often given to express the sentiment of happiness surrounding a child's birth.
In the 14th century, the name Joye became more commonly used as a feminine name in France and England. Its connection to joy and happiness made it a popular choice for parents during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joye is found in the 1327 court records of King Edward III of England, where a woman named Joye de Vere is mentioned as a landowner.
During the Renaissance, the name Joye gained popularity across Europe. Notable figures from this era include the English Protestant reformer and martyr Joye Hare, who was burned at the stake in 1556 for her religious beliefs.
In the 17th century, Joye Jeffreys was a prominent English writer and poet, best known for her work "The Whole Duty of a Christian" published in 1661. Her writings explored themes of faith and spirituality.
The 18th century saw the name Joye gain popularity in the American colonies. Joye Trumbull, born in 1742, was a notable figure in the American Revolution, serving as a spy and messenger for the Continental Army.
In the 19th century, Joye Lockwood, born in 1832, was a pioneering American educator and advocate for women's rights. She founded one of the first colleges for women in the United States.
Throughout history, the name Joye has remained a symbol of happiness and positivity, reflecting the aspirations of parents for their children's lives to be filled with joy.
People
Joye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joye 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
Joye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joye 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 194,415 US residents.
Is Joye a common name?
We classify Joye as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,475 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joye most popular?
The single biggest year for Joye was 1932, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joye is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Joye a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Joye 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.
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.