Joel Gordon
There are approximately 127 people named Joel Gordon living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,698,853 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joel with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Gordon. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
127
1 in 2,698,853
Named Joel
240K
Alive today
Named Gordon
181K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 240K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1985
Average age: 41
Top Census group: White (53.8%)
Estimated bearers: 181K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #163
Per 100K: 52.86
Top ancestry: White (61.0%)
First name trend
Joel: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Joel. The peak year was 1985 with 4,661 births. The average person named Joel today is 41 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joel
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Joel, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 53.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Joel at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White53.8% · 137,796
- Hispanic or Latino34.1% · 87,373
- Black or African American6.2% · 15,870
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 8,549
- Two or more races2.0% · 5,225
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,207
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Gordon surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Gordon, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 61.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Gordon described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Gordon at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White61.0% · 96,294
- Black or African American29.2% · 46,070
- Two or more races4.3% · 6,861
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 6,483
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,248
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,029
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Joel has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0701% of the US population, based on 240,202 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Joel right now.
The surname Gordon appears at a rate of 52.86 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0529%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 127 people with the full name Joel Gordon. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Joel
Related
Other people with the surname Gordon
FAQ
Joel Gordon: questions and answers
How many people are named Joel Gordon?
We estimate approximately 127 people in the United States share the full name Joel Gordon. That works out to about 1 in 2,698,853 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0701%) with the surname frequency (52.86 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joel Gordon?
We classify Joel Gordon as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,698,853 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Joel a male or female name?
Joel is predominantly male. Out of 280,584 total SSA registrations, 99.1% were male and 0.9% were female. See the full Joel profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are called Joel Gordon?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.