Joy Houck
There are approximately 4 people named Joy Houck living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 85,688,585 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joy with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Houck. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
4
1 in 85,688,585
Named Joy
98K
Alive today
Named Houck
14K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 98K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1957
Average age: 51
Top Census group: White (70.3%)
Estimated bearers: 14K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,973
Per 100K: 3.96
Top ancestry: White (91.9%)
First name trend
Joy: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Joy. The peak year was 1957 with 2,945 births. The average person named Joy today is 51 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joy
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Joy, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 70.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joy 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 Joy at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White70.3% · 82,620
- Black or African American14.5% · 17,088
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 9,072
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4,188
- Two or more races3.3% · 3,864
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 680
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Houck surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Houck, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 91.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Houck 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 Houck at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White91.9% · 10,865
- Two or more races3.3% · 385
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 312
- Black or African American1.1% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 51
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Joy has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0285% of the US population, based on 97,831 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 Joy right now.
The surname Houck appears at a rate of 3.96 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0040%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 4 people with the full name Joy Houck. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Joy
FAQ
Joy Houck: questions and answers
How many people are named Joy Houck?
We estimate approximately 4 people in the United States share the full name Joy Houck. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0285%) with the surname frequency (3.96 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joy Houck?
We classify Joy Houck as "Very Rare". About 1 in 85,688,585 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Joy a male or female name?
Joy is predominantly female. Out of 142,535 total SSA registrations, 1.8% were male and 98.2% were female. See the full Joy 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 common is the name Joy Houck?
See how common the name Joy Houck is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.