Joel Grey
There are approximately 11 people named Joel Grey living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 31,159,485 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joel with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Grey. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
11
1 in 31,159,485
Named Joel
240K
Alive today
Named Grey
16K
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: 16K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,546
Per 100K: 4.62
Top ancestry: White (62.1%)
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 Grey surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Grey, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 62.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Grey 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 Grey at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White62.1% · 8,582
- Black or African American22.7% · 3,135
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 827
- Two or more races4.7% · 647
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 357
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 274
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 Grey appears at a rate of 4.62 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0046%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 11 people with the full name Joel Grey. 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 Grey
FAQ
Joel Grey: questions and answers
How many people are named Joel Grey?
We estimate approximately 11 people in the United States share the full name Joel Grey. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0701%) with the surname frequency (4.62 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joel Grey?
We classify Joel Grey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 31,159,485 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 Grey?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.