Find out how popular the last name Joel is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Joel.

Joel, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Joel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Joel in America

Joel is the 19087th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Joel surname appeared 1,426 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Joel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Joel to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Joel

The surname Joel has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the Hebrew name Yo'el, which means "Yahweh is God." The name's roots can be traced back to the biblical prophet Joel, who lived in ancient Israel around the 5th century BC.

Joel is considered a prestigious name in Jewish communities worldwide, and it has been in use for centuries. In medieval times, the name appeared in various Hebrew texts and manuscripts, including the Talmud and other Jewish religious writings.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Joel can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Ioel" or "Iohel," indicating its usage among the Jewish population in England during the Norman period.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Joel was prevalent in France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It was also found in other parts of Europe, where Jewish communities had settled, such as Germany and Spain.

Notable individuals with the surname Joel throughout history include:

1. Georges Joel (1853-1933), a French politician and lawyer.
2. Manuel Joel (1826-1890), a Spanish-born English author and playwright.
3. Solomon Joel Raphael (1787-1828), a Dutch-Jewish scholar and poet.
4. Isaac Joel (1624-1673), a Dutch Jewish scholar and bibliographer.
5. Manasseh Ben Israel (1604-1657), a Portuguese-Dutch Jewish philosopher and writer, born Manasseh Ben Joseph Ben Israel Joele.

As the Jewish diaspora spread across the globe, the surname Joel became more widely dispersed. It is now found in various countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Joel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Joel.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Joel was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Joel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Joel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Joel, please contact us.

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